Should I apply for deputyship online or through a solicitor?
Deputyship: Should I apply for deputyship online or... - Mencap
Deputyship
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CT76
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Hi I went to to the solicitor for the property Nd finance one but I did the health and well-being on the government website. But I would have done both if I’d realised how expensive it was through the solicitor. It’s always daunting doing forms or I find them daunting personally but if I had my time again I would have done both myself and saved the money. But having the deputyship for me has been in valuable
The forms do look daunting 😏 May I ask how much was the solicitor please ?
A friend who was an English teacher and she had already got hers and she had done that herself she said she would check it over once I had done it and she said it was good so I sent it and I got it so they must have been happy with it
Thats good. I have just been advised by a solicitor that there is no need to do the welfare one unless there is an issue. Said I can do the application online and can pay the fees but its likely it will be decline. I am waiting for advice from another solicitor now
I don’t know why they say this as it’s not the case if your loved ones in care I would strongly advise you do it as you nEver know when you might need it and it’s been a godsend to me due to difficulties at his previous home.
Hi. I did both of mine and I didn’t need any help other than I needed the GP to sign that my son did not have capacity. I think that was COP3 form. It is only form filing after all so I wouldn’t use a solicitor.
Thankyou. Just been advised by a solicitor that there is no need to do the welfare one unless there is an issue. Said I can do the application online and pay the fees but it is likely to be declined
I would get both done BEFORE there is an issue. There is no reason why your application would be declined. I would give it a go but I understand if you find forms overwhelming. Perhaps a local charity near you might help you ?
We will be doing the health and welfare one at some point this year. I know several people that have been turned down for it and was told the same by the solicitor we used for his educational tribunal. There was a case by parents addressing this issue, worth a read.
irwinmitchell.com/news-and-...
My son is currently at residential college and we’ve not felt the need for it so far but he’ll be moving on in the summer and I’m looking into doing it then. I won’t do the finance one unless we need to sign a lease or something for him as otherwise it’s not needed in our case.
Aww yes I read that also. I wont need the finance one either. Will you do the forns yourself or a solicitor?
I have just done one myself for personal welfare and sent it off. It can seem daunting, but you just have to take your time and look over it a few times and my Husband checked it with me. I couldn't get a capacity test done, so I have filled in a witness statement and used my Son's social service assessment form to explain his needs and also got some information from his residential home. I am really hoping it gets approved. Good luck
Aww thankyou.. did u find the forms complicated at all
They weren't too bad and you just need to read the guidelines on them and you can Google each part of the form too for more information. Just read them a few times and then they make sense
Ive made the 1st step and printed off all the relevant forms. I may be messagaing if I need help 🙈
Aww thankyou
I am in the process of making an application for Property and Affairs deputyship to act on behalf of my brother who lacks capacity.
I have used a solicitor. She is charging approx £1,500 to manage the application process on my behalf.
For the application you will need to arrange for a Capacity Assessment to be carried out by someone of authority. I arranged for my brother's Social Worker to do this. It was free of charge but I have heard some do charge for this.
I also needed 3 people, preferably family members, to be notified so they could dispute the application if they feel it necessary, otherwise they just write to confirm no challenge. If the don't respond then you have to wait for a suitable period of time.
Once the application is sent the Court of Protection will write to you within about 2 weeks. Following this notification within 2 weeks you must interview the person you wish to act for to ensure they understand what is happening and why. You must complete relevant forms then return them within 5 days to the CoP. This is required even if the person lacks capacity. My brother won't understand but it is still necesssary.
Government info on this can be found at the following link:
gov.uk/become-deputy/apply-...
My solicitor has been guiding me through the process.
As an interim measure my solicitor advised that I apply to the DWP to become his appointee to manage his affairs until I am granted the deputyship. I did and it was granted.
I have been in discussions with my solicitor for a long while about applying for the Health and Welfare deputyship too. There was reference to a test case in an earlier post by IrwinMitchell. I was in consultation with my solicitor before the results of this came in. When they did everyone was disappointed as it did not bring the results hoped for. It came down to the judge saying that cases need to be assessed individually.
If your loved one lacks capacity and DoLS is in place for them you can apply to be their Represented Persons Representative. This gives you more of a formal say on care than just simply being a relative. Essentially, if you attended the DoLS interview it may be likely you are already named but you should check. If DoLS has lapsed you can't apply, as in my case, until it has been reinstated apparently. I need to follow this up as DoLS should never lapse if the local authority has not been able to reassess due to their backlog.
My solicitor has informed me that despite care issues the Court of Protection prefer to manage problems as they arise instead of putting in place a H&W deputyship. If care problems arise contact them and explain the problem and they will guide you through what you need to do. The CoP are inundated with H&W applications and very few are approved. I have had to continually raise issues and we are going through a Safeguarding issue presently. I will pursue the H&W deputyship in the meantime but until then I use all the above to keep my brother as safe as I possibly can.
I hope you are able to obtain whichever deputyships you are able to. If you do apply for the H&W deputyship and are successful please post the info to help others in doing the same.
Fingers crossed and best of luck,
Yes its the H & W deputyship I am doing ( I have the forms here printed off ready to fill ) but have been given so much advice, one by a solicitor that said they are not likey to appoint unless a crisis arises. There is no crisis as such as yet but I am araid there will be ( my son is finishing school in September a we are trying to find suitable provision.. there are 2 possible ones.. the social worker is clearly steering towards one and me to the other.. she has mentioned a best interest meeting and I worry will they over rule my decisions 😞 ) I dont feel I need to apply for the financial one as I am already my sons appointee and thats all his income and no savings, property etc
Sorry, I forgot to ask what is DoLS?
DoLS is a 'Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard'. It was applied for to the Court of Protection by adult services when my son reached 18, they also had to prove he lacked capacity understanding danger and why doors and windows needed to remain locked at home to keep him safe. As Pogul44 said, it has to be renewed yearly.I will also be applying for deputyship myself, for finance at first as he has savings that we cannot access for him, then health and welfare (not sure if you can apply for both at same time). I hadn't heard of applying to be the 'Relevant Persons Representative', I will keep that in mind if I dont get deputyship for H&W. Some really helpful information.
I agree with others, parents shouldnt have to jump through hoops to be their son/daughters/siblings deputy for H&W, they will always have their best interests at heart because they are loved , local authority decisions are based purely on finance.
I read up about DoLS now..does it only apply for persons in a care home or hospital?
No, my son lives at home, we have to keep doors and windows locked all the time, and he has to have someone with him at all times to keep him safe as he lacks capacity understanding danger, the social worker said they had to put a DoLS in place because of this once he reached 18.
Apologies CT76 for not replying to your question but things have been a bit busy. I see you've had some good replies though so I don't need to add anything on DoLS.
I intend to discuss with my solicitor the best approach to keeping my brother safe without having H&W deputyship. In the past I have found that care home services and local authorities and CQC tend to work together making it very difficult to improve poor care and welfare conditions. It's been quite a nightmare in the past even though the Safeguarding team have been involved too. Fortunately for us my solicitor has informed me that Surrey presently have the strongest safeguarding team in the country in place and she has been so impressed with them she is considering using their approach as a test case for excellence. This is a new team pulled together within the last couple of years. I wish the same standard were applied for local authorities countrywide but I guess it's down to yet another postcode lottery.
Once I have a plan of approach with the help of my solicitor I will aim to post a guideline of what to do and who to contact when problems arise as there doesn't seem to be a plan for this at the moment. If there were it would save being sent from pillar to post wasting time on improving care for our loved ones who are so reliant on the care system.
Wishing you all good luck and best wishes for continual improvement in your own loved ones care.
All the replies here are very interesting and helpful. I would personally endeavour to do my own forms for deputeeship as solicitors charge so very much. It has cost an arm and a leg to do a more specialised Will because of my daughter's lack of mental capacity to handle her own affairs. I think it's completely wrong for health and welfare deputy-appointing to be done in the most difficult of cases because when a crises occurs, waiting 3 months or so for a deputeeship-appointment to be processed would be a nightmare on top of a difficult case/ crises going on with your loved one.I hope things improve given the court case that one reply here has highlighted.
I also totally agree that it's parents who have the health and welfare of their loved ones paramount in comparison with Social Services who are budget-bound - I wont comment any more on that as it will show pure anger and frustration that I feel when, 'a person believes what their salary is dependent on them believing'.
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