Deputyship Orders
Deputyship
If an individual no longer has mental capacity and does not already have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place, applying for a Deputyship Order may be your only option.
Greendrift Wills & Estates can support and guide you through the lengthy & complex Deputyship application process. Starting with an initial face-to-face meeting and frank discussion about the cost (£’s), administrative challenges, and significant responsibilities of being someone’s Deputy. Then, if you decide to proceed, we will do our very best to help make the application process as smooth and painless for you as we can.
What is a Deputy?
A Deputy is the person appointed by the Court of Protection to deal with the affairs of an individual who has lost mental capacity and can no longer manage their own affairs.
Why might I need a Deputyship Order?
If someone has lost mental capacity because of an accident or illness and they are no longer able to give instructions for a Lasting Power of Attorney the only option may be to apply to the Court of Protection for appointment as their Deputy.
Who can become a Property & Affairs Deputy?
It is normally a close family member who makes the application to the Court of Protection for appointment as someone’s Deputy. If there are no close relatives willing to act, then a friend, lawyer, social worker or other professional may apply to deal with the individual’s financial affairs.
Please bear in mind that the Court’s own guidance states that “the Court ought to start from the position that, where family members offer themselves as Deputies then, in the absence of family disputes or other matters….., the Court ought to approach such an application with considerable openness and sympathy.”
Whoever applies for a Deputyship must be someone who is financially sound, competent, trustworthy, can spare the time and is motivated to take over managing the individual’s financial affairs in their best interests.
What Types of Deputyship Order are there?
There are two types of Deputyship Order, one for Property and Financial Affairs, and one for Personal Welfare.
Greendrift Wills & Estates can help prepare applications for Property & Financial Affairs Deputyship Orders. We do not currently support applications for Personal Welfare Deputyship Orders which are only rarely granted by the Court in any case.
Nb The Code of Practice to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (which governs when Personal Welfare Deputyship Orders should be allowed) states that the Orders should only be granted in the “most difficult of cases”. The thinking behind this is that the Court should be reluctant to give one single individual the authority to make such important and intimate personal welfare decisions, unless considered absolutely necessary. Rather, everybody involved in the care of the individual should work together to make decisions in that person’s best interests.
What can a Property & Financial Affairs Deputy do?
The Order made by the Court will set out what the Deputy can do and also what they are prohibited from doing. A Deputy for financial affairs will do many of the day-to-day financial things that you would expect, such as; paying care home bills, purchasing personal items, managing bank accounts and making investments.
Further powers would have to be sought from the Court before the Deputy could undertake more complex tasks such as selling property, litigation, or making a Statutory Will.
How long will a Deputyship application take?
Deputyship applications are currently taking at least 6 months from when the completed application is submitted to the Court.
Additionally, it usually takes about six weeks to gather all the necessary information needed to complete the application forms, to notify interested parties and to have a mental capacity assessment carried out.
What are the key stages in the application process?
1. Persons to be Notified
The applicant must identify at least three persons to be notified that a Deputyship Order application is underway such as members of the individual’s close family. If any of these people object to the Deputyship application, the proceedings become contested and are likely to be delayed by many months.
2. Mental Capacity Assessment
It is essential that an assessment of the individual’s mental capacity is carried out by a suitably qualified professional and the ‘COP3’ form completed.
3. Completion of Deputyship Application Forms
Details are required both about the Individual (including a breakdown of their income, normal expenditure and assets) and also about the prospective Deputy (including an in-depth look at their own personal and financial circumstances). In addition, the Deputy applicant will be required to explain why the appointment of a Deputy is necessary, why they are best placed to be that Deputy, how the Deputyship Order will be in the Individual’s best interests, and to sign a ‘statement of truth’.
4. Court Proceedings
Court proceedings include serving documents, processing responses to the appointment of the Deputy and satisfying themselves that the Deputy should be appointed. Occasionally, the Court may request an additional hearing, or the applicant may wish to appeal against a decision of the Court, both would incur additional costs.
5. Annual Report
About 6 to 8 weeks before each anniversary of the Deputy’s appointment, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) will contact them to ask for an annual report detailing all the decisions made through the year and recording all income, expenditure and capital.
The Likely Costs Involved
The costs quickly stack up, most are one-off but some are ongoing. However, reasonable costs may be reimbursed from the individual’s own funds once the Deputyship Order has been granted.
Likely Costs (as at January 2026):
- Mental Capacity Assessment Fee – estimate £300 to £450
Sometimes the individual’s own GP or Social Worker will agree to assess them (for a lower fee) and to complete the required COP3 ‘Assessment of Capacity’ form. However, usually a third party medical, healthcare or social work professional will have to be instructed to do so.
Greendrift Wills & Estates can advise on suitable national firms who offer this service and also, since we have links to a local medical doctor based at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, we can often arrange this on your behalf. - Greendrift Wills & Estates Fee – £850
(payable in two tranches, £500 when the application is submitted, and the balance of £350 when the Deputyship Order is granted)
Greendrift Wills & Estates offer to come and meet you in your own home and we pride ourselves on our responsiveness to phone calls, and emails etc. We will advise on obtaining the required mental capacity assessment, and will remain actively supporting your case until your Deputyship Order is approved and responsibility has passed over to the Office of the Public Guardian. - Court of Protection Application Fee – £421
This fee is payable to the Court when your application is submitted and if a Court Hearing or an Appeal is required there will be additional fees payable. - Security Bond – annual fee to be confirmed by the Court
For Property and Financial Affairs Deputyships the Court insists on suitable insurance being in place to protect the finances of the person for whom the Deputy is acting. A fee must be paid to a Security Bond provider and the Court will send you details of their preferred provider, or you can seek your own arrangements. The amount the Deputy is required to pay each year depends on the value of the individual’s estate and the resultant Bond calculation – they should expect to pay a small percentage of the value of the Bond set by the Court each year. For example, if the Bond value set by the Court is £100,000 you are likely to be asked to pay about £110 a year. - Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) fees
OPG Initial Assessment Fee – £100
After a Deputyship Order has been granted, you will be asked to pay an initial assessment fee which is a one-off payment to cover the cost of assessing the level of ongoing supervision you will need.
OPG Annual Supervision Fee – between £35 and £320
This fee varies depending on the level of supervision which the OPG state is required. It is an annual fee, payable at the end of March each year. Deputies are also required to keep accounts, and to keep the individual’s money and property separate from their own.