My Relative is not Capable of Making Decisions Part Two: Making an Application to the Court of Protection
In the first part of this series we outlined steps you can take if your loved one lacks mental capacity. If this is the case, you may need to apply to the Court of Protection to become that person's deputy and make decisions on their behalf. In some cases, you will have to apply for permission to make an application to the Court of Protection before you can apply. This usually relates to applications about personal welfare rather than property and financial affairs. You will need to fill in one of a number of forms depending on what kind of application you want to make and you will need to pay a Court fee of around £400.
Is it an Emergency?
Most applications to the Court of Protection can take up to 16 weeks to process. If you believe the situation is an emergency; for example relating to urgent medical care, then an application can be made to the Court of Protection as an emergency and will be considered within 24 hours.
You might also be able to ask for an urgent intermediate order before a deputy is appointed.
Who Needs to Know?
When you submit your application you will need to send or 'serve' it to anyone who is a respondent and the person to whom it relates and also notify relatives and other people who are in your application. More guidance is available on the .gov.uk website to help you with this process.
What Happens Next?
Once the Court receives your application it will consider it and on the basis of this information will make a decision in many cases. Sometimes however there may need to be a hearing where you might be asked to provide more information or obtain reports from other agencies such as social services. When a decision is made there may still be more steps you need to take such as getting a type of insurance policy called a 'security' if the order is about property and financial affairs. Some aspects of this will be explained in future posts.
The Court of Protection processes can be complex and legal advice is recommended. If you or a loved one you know are likely to lose capacity in the future; for example in cases of dementia, setting up an LPA can help avoid the need to go through this channel.
