Court of protection solicitors

Understanding the Court of Protection

When someone is believed not to have the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves, the Court of Protection becomes involved.

The Court is responsible for ruling whether someone has the mental capacity to make their own decision at the time it needs to be made in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The Court also appoints people, known as Deputies, to make decisions on an ongoing basis on the behalf of an individual who cannot do it for themselves.

When someone is suspected to lack capacity an application can be made to the Court of Protection to make long term or one-off immediate decisions on their behalf. The decisions may be in relation to:

• Money and property
• Health and welfare

If a decision relates to medical treatment the court will take under consideration any living will or advance decision an individual has made.

The Court is equipped to deal with applications and make decisions quickly in emergency situations such as when someone is at risk of harm or there is an immediate medical decision to make.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 also recognises that over the course of a person’s lifetime their ability to make  decisions (capacity) will change. Sometimes it can get progressively worse because of conditions like dementia, but in other cases (such as recovering after a stroke or a brain injury), you may lose capacity only to regain it later.

In these cases it is important that the person is given back the legal right to make their own decisions again, and this is overseen by the Court of Protection.

Court of protection legal costs

The fees involved in a case – and who is responsible for paying them – vary depending on the nature of the application. There are cases where help is available for the payment of fees and costs in relation to a Court of Protection case or where fees are not charged. Our solicitors can advise you about the costs involved in the type of case you may need to bring and where the money can be drawn from.