Deputyship Series: What is a deputyship and how do you get appointed as a deputy?

In previous articles we have looked at putting in place Lasting Power of Attorneys in order to appoint Attorneys that you trust to look after your health & welfare affairs and manage your property & financial affairs, in the event that you lose capacity and are unable to make your own decisions. In order to put in place Lasting Power of Attorneys, you need capacity. So, what happens if you need someone to look after your health, welfare, financial and property affairs, but do not have capacity to appoint someone? Someone could make an application to make decisions on your behalf where you are no longer able to make decisions yourself, and be appointed as a Deputy. That someone is usually a friend or a relative, but can also be a professional. In this article, we look at deputyship and how a Deputy can be appointed.

A person can be appointed as a ‘Deputy’ in order to manage the affairs of a person that is unable to manage their own affairs, this is known as a deputyship. The application is made to the Court of Protection, who will decide whether to appoint the person making the application as a Deputy. If it is decided that they should be appointed a Deputy, the Court will pass an order giving the person authority to act on your behalf where you are unable to manage your own affairs and do not have an LPA in place. 

Types of Deputyship 

There are two types of Deputies that can be appointed:

1. Property and financial affairs Deputy– who are normally responsible for managing your financial and property affairs, such as paying bills, for example. 
2. Personal welfare Deputy– who are normally responsible for making decisions about your medical treatment and how you should be looked after, for example. 

Fees for making the Application

Not only are there court fees to pay when making the application, but there are also annual fees that must be paid every year after the Deputy has been appointed. The appointed Deputy will be responsible for these costs. At the current rate, the application fee for making the application is £365.00. On making the application, if the court decides that a hearing is required to decide on whether the deputyship should be granted, then a court fee of £485.00 is currently payable.  

There are also fees to be paid after the Deputy has been appointed, the amount to be paid will depend on the level of supervision that the deputyship requires. The fees are currently £320.00 for general supervisor and £35.00 for minimal supervision, this fee will also apply to some property and affairs deputies who are managing less than £21,000.00.

If the Deputy appointed is acting as a deputy for the first time, then there is also an additional fee of £100.00 that will be payable.

You can get help to make payment of the application and supervision fees, and more information about fees can be found on the government’s website www.gov.uk/become-deputy/fees.  

For more information about appointment of deputyship and how you can be appointed as a Deputy, please contact us on 01753 486 777, for a free initial consultation.