Deputyship Applications

However, if a person no longer has the mental capacity to make an LPA, for someone else to make decisions on their behalf, it will be necessary for that other person to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as their Deputy. As with Attorneys under LPAs, more than one Deputy may be appointed to act for a person.

If the application is successful, the Court of Protection will make a Deputy order authorising the Deputy to take certain decisions and actions on behalf of the person who lacks capacity. A Deputy is accountable to the Court and every year, a Deputy must provide a report to Court informing them of decisions made on behalf of the person who lacks capacity and accounts for the Court to approve.

As with LPAs, there are two types of Deputy orders: Property and Financial Affairs, and Health and Welfare. In most cases, a person’s partner or another close relative will be a suitable Deputy. However, if a person has a large or complicated estate, it may be more appropriate to appoint a professional Deputy, such as a solicitor, who will charge fees for the costs of their work.

It is more time-consuming and expensive to make a Deputyship application and act as a Deputy than to act as an Attorney under an LPA. For these reasons, a person should always consider making an LPA while they have the mental capacity to do so. A person can lose capacity quickly or unexpectedly and if this happens, they will not be able to choose their Deputy or place their own limits upon the kind of decisions their Deputy may make.

Fixed fees for our work

In most cases, we offer a fixed fee package for the preparation, issue at Court and progression of a Deputyship application. There are a number of other costs, such as Court fees, which are not included within the fixed fee, and for which the client, as the prospective Deputy, will be responsible.

We also offer a fixed fee from £150 + VAT for the initial meeting and advice about the making of a Deputyship application. However, we will not ask a client to pay the fixed fee if we then make a Deputyship application for them.

In most cases, for a Deputyship application, we charge a fixed fee of £850 + £170 VAT + disbursements (see below) for the preparation and making of an application. This fixed fee may not include work associated with a hearing if the Court decides that one is necessary.

The initial fixed fee from £150 + VAT applies if we do not make a Deputyship application after the initial meeting, perhaps because after receiving our advice the client decides they do not want to apply after all or it transpires that the person concerned still has the mental capacity to make an LPA after all.

Court fees and other costs

A Deputyship application must be accompanied by an Assessment of Capacity form completed by a medical practitioner. Some practitioners do not charge for completing this form, but when they do, the fees typically range between £50 and £500.

A Court fee of £365 is payable when issuing a Deputyship application. A further Deputy Assessment fee of £100 is payable following the appointment of a Deputy. If the Court decides that a hearing is necessary to determine an application, a hearing fee of £485 is payable.

There is an annual Supervision fee, the amount of which varies according to the level of supervision that the Court believes is appropriate for the Deputyship. Supervision fees range between £35 and £320.

A Deputy must also take out a security bond to cover their actions as a Deputy. The amount of the bond depends upon the nature and value of the person’s estate and the level of responsibility the Deputy will have. The bond is payable annually.

Paying the costs from the person’s estate and fee exemptions/remissions

You may recover the costs of an application from the estate of the person who lacks capacity only if applying to be a property and affairs deputy .

You can apply for an exemption of supervision fees if the person who lacks capacity receives certain welfare benefits. An exemption may be available where one of the following welfare benefits is received: Income Support, Income-based Employment and Support Allowance; Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; Guaranteed Pension Credit; Housing Benefit; Council Tax Reduction or Support (restrictions apply); Local Housing Allowance; Universal Credit; a combination of Working Tax Credit together with another specified benefit.

An exemption may not be available where the person who lacks capacity was awarded personal injury damages of more than £16,000.

You can apply for a remission (a reduction of 50%) in supervision fees if the person who lacks capacity has a gross annual income of less than £12,000 or receives Universal Credit. A remission is not available for the minimum annual supervision charge of £35.

To qualify for a remission or exemption an application must be made and certain evidence provided. We will be happy to assist and advise you on these matters.

Cases to which fixed fees do not apply

If a case is unusually complicated or involved, it may be obvious from the outset that it will not be possible for us to prepare a Deputyship application at our standard fixed fee rate. If a case falls into this category, we will inform the client at the initial meeting and advise them of the fees that will apply. If we inform a client that their case falls into this category and they then decide not to instruct us after all, we will not charge for the initial meeting and any advice already given.

The professional fees charged by solicitors in Deputyship applications are subject to fixed fees set by the Court. The fixed fee is £850 plus VAT per application. If a solicitor believes the fixed fee limit is inappropriate in a particular case given the nature and amount of work involved, they may ask the Court to assess their fees and for the Court to decide how much the solicitor should be paid for their work.

At the outset of a case, we will explain if and why we will charge more than our standard fixed fees. Even if a client agrees to pay more than our fixed fee, there will always be the opportunity for the Court to decide what are fair and reasonable costs for the client to pay.

Our fees for non-fixed fee cases will depend upon the complexity of the case, the experience and seniority of the lawyers and support staff involved and any disbursements which apply.

Contact us

Contact us today to see if our dedicated team can help. Please telephone our Holloway office on 020 7263 7887, or contact us enquiries@burkeniazi.com.