It is difficult to miss the current news stories about Britney Spears and her Conservatorship Order which appoints her father to act and make decisions on her behalf. The UK’s equivalent to this is called a Deputyship Order and is made through the Court of Protection.
A Deputyship Order is where the Court appoints a Deputy to act on behalf of someone who can no longer make decisions for themselves. The person to which the Order relates needs to lack capacity to make decisions for themselves and this needs to be confirmed by a Doctor or medical professional. A person may lack capacity for many reasons such as following a serious brain injury or illness, dementia or because he/she has severe learning difficulties.
It is at the Court’s discretion as to who is appointed to act as Deputy, and the Court will take into consideration a number of factors and appoint someone appropriate to act as Deputy (usually this is a close family member).
Scenarios where you may need a Deputyship Order:-
- When an elderly relative has moved to a Nursing Home, has dementia and because of this they can no longer make decisions for themselves. It may be that their care needs to be paid for and as their closest relative you need access to their finances to do this or even go as far as to sell their home to pay for care. You would have to obtain a Deputyship Order to enable you to have the legal authority to help them.
- When someone is over the age of 18 but is unable to make decisions for themselves and are deemed not to have capacity, you would need a Deputyship Order to enable you to look after and manage their finances for them even if that person is your son or daughter.
Is there a way to avoid a Deputyship Order? Yes, if you still have capacity you can make a document called a Lasting Power of Attorney. This document operates similarly to a Deputyship Order but you can choose who you would like to act on your behalf and have the option to include preferences and instructions for them to follow.
We strongly recommend you have a Lasting Power of Attorney in place to ensure that you are being looked after by the people you have chosen. If you would like to discuss Lasting Powers of Attorney or Deputyship Orders please call us on 01244 312306 and we will be happy to help!
