Court of protection fees exemption

Emily M

Registered User
Jan 20, 2015
178
0
COP FEES EXEMPTION

I am a little angry and upset. I have just had the forms returned from the Court of Protection for our application to become Deputies for financial affairs for my mother. We applied for exemption of fees as we were led to believe that she would receive an exemption because she is in receipt of Pension Credits and living in a nursing home apart of her husband. The form EX160 is extremely ambiguous and I even consulted Citizens Advice on filling this in. I am told that exemption of fees will be based solely on “P’s” details (why could they not just say Partner’s?). I very much doubt that she will receive an exemption as his two pensions are in the region of £17,000 per annum, though over a third of his money goes on rent. This was not made clear to me and it appeared that it would be based on her income only. I think to save time I will get him to pay it and claim it back from her finances when it is granted or reclaim it if she qualifies after all, based on his finances.

What makes me really angry is that they have returned ALL the documents and the application will have to be resubmitted and count as a new application. This seems like a delaying tactics. She owes over 3 months to the home and it is likely to be 6 months by the time this government office deals with it. It is almost as if they are trying to force people to use a solicitor, which is not good if people don’t have much money.

I was wondering:-

• I am thinking of asking them to speed up the process as there is a section on the form for this, though if they refuse will they send back the forms a second time?

• Can I just send off the same forms without changing the date (18 September) if I send them back soon?

• Has anyone else had this kind of experience with COP?

Many thanks for reading this.
 

arielsmelody

Registered User
Jul 16, 2015
515
0
Hi! I remember you posting about this a while back - I'm sorry it hasn't worked out.
 
Last edited:

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
It is the financial status of the person who is applying to the court that decides whether or not exemption or remission is applicable.

In the case of an application for deputy it is this person's finances that count.

This is different to the case of an application for an LPA where it is the donor who is making the application and therefore it is their finances that matter.

I also think that several court forms are of the 'one size fits all' type and research has to be done if you are filling them in without professional help.

EDIT
Sorry I got it wrong - have sent OP a PM.

Application and hearing fee exemptions and refunds
You may not have to pay an application fee depending on:

what type of deputy you’re applying to be
how much money you or the person you’re applying to be deputy for has
Type of deputy Whose finances will be assessed
Property and financial affairs Theirs
Personal welfare Yours
Property and financial affairs and personal welfare Theirs
The guidance has information about exemptions.

You can claim back the fee from the funds of the person you want to be a deputy for if you’re applying to be a property and affairs deputy.


https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy/fees
 
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Emily M

Registered User
Jan 20, 2015
178
0
It is the financial status of the person who is applying to the court that decides whether or not exemption or remission is applicable.

In the case of an application for deputy it is this person's finances that count.

This is different to the case of an application for an LPA where it is the donor who is making the application and therefore it is their finances that matter.

I also think that several court forms are of the 'one size fits all' type and research has to be done if you are filling them in without professional help.



Indeed, definitely one size fits all. I actually did do research and get help from Citizens Advice and also telephone the COP Office, but still there is a problem which is why I am so annoyed about it! I do sometimes wonder if some of the people working in the COP actually know what needs doing themselves. Hopefully, there will not be a problem with the actual forms.
 

Emily M

Registered User
Jan 20, 2015
178
0
It is the financial status of the person who is applying to the court that decides whether or not exemption or remission is applicable.

In the case of an application for deputy it is this person's finances that count.

This is different to the case of an application for an LPA where it is the donor who is making the application and therefore it is their finances that matter.

I also think that several court forms are of the 'one size fits all' type and research has to be done if you are filling them in without professional help.

EDIT
Sorry I got it wrong - have sent OP a PM.

Application and hearing fee exemptions and refunds
You may not have to pay an application fee depending on:

what type of deputy you’re applying to be
how much money you or the person you’re applying to be deputy for has
Type of deputy Whose finances will be assessed
Property and financial affairs Theirs
Personal welfare Yours
Property and financial affairs and personal welfare Theirs
The guidance has information about exemptions.

You can claim back the fee from the funds of the person you want to be a deputy for if you’re applying to be a property and affairs deputy.


https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy/fees



Thanks nitram. That is helpful. Her husband is going to pay the fee anyway as we don't want to leave it any longer. We will worry about him claiming back from the COP if he is eligible, or from her funds, later.
 

tryingmybest

Registered User
May 22, 2015
638
0
Just don't get me started on the inadequacies of this ridiculous set up supposedly to protect the vulnerable in our society! I have personally been through several months of sheer hell. You can spend hours trying to contact these people by phone to then be given incorrect information as half of those that work there do not have a clue (ask for Nichole, she was very good)!! Yes I agree, they try to force you to use a solicitor which most of us can't afford. I was not able to get legal aid as they said I had a home of my own was unrepresented in my case and it was an absolute nightmare. I can however advise you to use a COP9 form to ask them to look at particular concerns and to urge things along as they have to pass that to a judge or someone high up. Good luck with it all. xx
 

Emily M

Registered User
Jan 20, 2015
178
0
Just don't get me started on the inadequacies of this ridiculous set up supposedly to protect the vulnerable in our society! I have personally been through several months of sheer hell. You can spend hours trying to contact these people by phone to then be given incorrect information as half of those that work there do not have a clue (ask for Nichole, she was very good)!! Yes I agree, they try to force you to use a solicitor which most of us can't afford. I was not able to get legal aid as they said I had a home of my own was unrepresented in my case and it was an absolute nightmare. I can however advise you to use a COP9 form to ask them to look at particular concerns and to urge things along as they have to pass that to a judge or someone high up. Good luck with it all. xx

Hi tryingmybest

Thank you for your reply. I was a little vague about how the COP9 form works so I have downloaded one. I will keep it mind and if I feel the proceedings are taking a long time I will definitely use it. Why on earth do they need another form for this rather than me sending them a letter saying this is urgently needed as my mother's fees are well overdue? I note that you need a case number for this form which I will not get until they have actually bothered to look at the forms. I intend to e-mail the COP again next week with a number of questions and I will ask if I can use the COP9 form if they are taking a long time.

Yes we could use a solicitor and it would be paid for out of Mum's small amount money in arrears, but I don't see why we should now we have got to the stage where all of the forms are completed (if they have actually told us the right forms to fill in). Also it may even delay things as some solicitors are slow to say the least.

As I said, what did annoy me was that ALL the forms were sent back in this delaying technique that seems to be normal with government offices and seems just a way of clearing work out of someone's in-tray.

Being optimistic, I did get a rapid response when I contacted these people by e-mail, in fact it was more rapid than telephoning them! I intend to keep e-mailing and being a pain until I get this dealt with.
 

tryingmybest

Registered User
May 22, 2015
638
0
I hear you and I truly know how frustrating it all is. They don't like letters or emails. Everything has to be done on the appropriate form unfortunately. Even then they take so long to respond. They are dealing with thousands and thousands of applications. The system is difficult to get around and is run by uncaring idiots on the whole although in the last few months I found two who were helpful and Nicole really knew her stuff. If it hadn't been for her at the beginning I would have filled in all the wrong forms as was advised incorrectly by several people there as well as the police. I really think it would be worth phoning rather than emailing (be prepared for a long wait and their phones automatically cut off after 21 minutes of ringing) and I really do recommend the cop9 form. Good luck. Xx
 

Emily M

Registered User
Jan 20, 2015
178
0
I hear you and I truly know how frustrating it all is. They don't like letters or emails. Everything has to be done on the appropriate form unfortunately. Even then they take so long to respond. They are dealing with thousands and thousands of applications. The system is difficult to get around and is run by uncaring idiots on the whole although in the last few months I found two who were helpful and Nicole really knew her stuff. If it hadn't been for her at the beginning I would have filled in all the wrong forms as was advised incorrectly by several people there as well as the police. I really think it would be worth phoning rather than emailing (be prepared for a long wait and their phones automatically cut off after 21 minutes of ringing) and I really do recommend the cop9 form. Good luck. Xx



I didn't know that you could ask for an individual person when you phone them.