Court of Protection - Deputyship Order

thirtyeight

Registered User
Aug 4, 2015
4
0
Hello everyone,

I am a new member here and would appreciate any advice or guidance.

My wife has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. We are both in our mid-70's and have been married for 50 years. We own our own house, which is in both our names. However, we have always had separate bank accounts and savings accounts. My wife has two pensions; a private pension and a state pension paid into her personal bank account. We have also both made a will.

As my wife is not able to make her own decisions about her finances, I would like to apply for a Deputyship Order. I already have third party control over her bank account.

I have read the CoP legal forms, which have left me very confused. I have also visited a local solicitor who quoted me a fee of over £1,200. I am not au fait with legal matters and I wonder if you could help me please with my concerns below:

Is it necessary for me to take out the Deputyship Order? It is very expensive and what would happen if I didn't to this? The Solicitor also mentioned a bond and a yearly fee that would have to be paid on top of the £1,200 but they cannot tell me how much these would cost.

If we had to move house, do I need to hold a legal Deputyship?

We do not receive benefits from the state, but I do receive an Attendance Allowance for caring for my wife.

As the legal fees are very high, I would like to think I could complete the application myself but it all looks so complicated and I wonder if employing a Solicitor to do the work for me would be more beneficial.

Thanks for reading this and I hope somebody can help me.
 

min88cat

Registered User
Apr 6, 2010
581
0
Hi Thirtyeight, welcome to TP! You will find lots of useful information on this forum and some lovely people!

Has it been confirmed that your wife has lost capacity, and that is why you have applied for the forms? If she still has capacity, it's possible to apply for an LPA (lasting power of attorney which is cheaper and simpler than deputyship and doesn't require annual financial reports and the insurance bond.

If she has lost capacity, I know that there are a lot of people on this site who have completed their owns forms without a solicitor. Hopefully they will be along soon to assist you.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Hello thirtyeight. There are several people on here who have done the CoP application by themselves and not found it too difficult. The phone number for the CoP goes to some very helpful people. I consulted a solicitor for an initial consultation which cost £150 and he filled in the majority of the form and I filled in the easy bits like names and addresses. I did the rest of it which is mostly paper shuffling and sending out forms. Other expenses are £400 for the court hearing and, as you said purchasing a security bond and annual administration fees. The price of the bond and the fees have a sliding scale and vary depending on the value of her finances.

Im not very knowledgable about legal things, but I have had to have CoP to sell mums bungalow and I would think that you will have to have CoP to sell you and your wifes home too.
 

thirtyeight

Registered User
Aug 4, 2015
4
0
Hi Thirtyeight, welcome to TP! You will find lots of useful information on this forum and some lovely people!

Has it been confirmed that your wife has lost capacity, and that is why you have applied for the forms? If she still has capacity, it's possible to apply for an LPA (lasting power of attorney which is cheaper and simpler than deputyship and doesn't require annual financial reports and the insurance bond.

If she has lost capacity, I know that there are a lot of people on this site who have completed their owns forms without a solicitor. Hopefully they will be along soon to assist you.

Hello min88cat, yes she is unable to organise her own finances and this has been confirmed. It's too late now to apply for the LPA but thanks very much for your response.
 

thirtyeight

Registered User
Aug 4, 2015
4
0
Hello thirtyeight. There are several people on here who have done the CoP application by themselves and not found it too difficult. The phone number for the CoP goes to some very helpful people. I consulted a solicitor for an initial consultation which cost £150 and he filled in the majority of the form and I filled in the easy bits like names and addresses. I did the rest of it which is mostly paper shuffling and sending out forms. Other expenses are £400 for the court hearing and, as you said purchasing a security bond and annual administration fees. The price of the bond and the fees have a sliding scale and vary depending on the value of her finances.

Im not very knowledgable about legal things, but I have had to have CoP to sell mums bungalow and I would think that you will have to have CoP to sell you and your wifes home too.

Hi canary, thanks this is helpful. Well done for doing it yourself. Thanks for your response. Hope others stories could help me also
 

99purdy

Registered User
Oct 31, 2014
132
0
Hi thirty eight, I have recently completed the COP deputyship for my Dad. You will need to complete COP1 COP1A COP4 COP3. It really is not too bad once you start. I initially instructed a solicitor who charged a fortune and basically did nothing. You will have to pay £400 application fee, a security bond decided by the court and your doctor will need to complete COP3 and may charge, mine charged £85. One very helpful website was Solicitors for the Elderly Court of Protection Documentation Pack. This tells you what to answer and example letters etc. I found this extremely helpful. Also the Court of Protection can advise you. I think you can claim some help with costs if you income is below a certain level. Other people on here will give lots of good advice. Please do not be put off and good luck. X
 

thirtyeight

Registered User
Aug 4, 2015
4
0
Hi thirty eight, I have recently completed the COP deputyship for my Dad. You will need to complete COP1 COP1A COP4 COP3. It really is not too bad once you start. I initially instructed a solicitor who charged a fortune and basically did nothing. You will have to pay £400 application fee, a security bond decided by the court and your doctor will need to complete COP3 and may charge, mine charged £85. One very helpful website was Solicitors for the Elderly Court of Protection Documentation Pack. This tells you what to answer and example letters etc. I found this extremely helpful. Also the Court of Protection can advise you. I think you can claim some help with costs if you income is below a certain level. Other people on here will give lots of good advice. Please do not be put off and good luck. X

Thanks 99purdy; any information on here is very helpful to me and I appreciate your advice. Thanks also for the website information which I will take a look at.
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Hi thirty eight, I have recently completed the COP deputyship for my Dad. You will need to complete COP1 COP1A COP4 COP3. It really is not too bad once you start. I initially instructed a solicitor who charged a fortune and basically did nothing. You will have to pay £400 application fee, a security bond decided by the court and your doctor will need to complete COP3 and may charge, mine charged £85. One very helpful website was Solicitors for the Elderly Court of Protection Documentation Pack. This tells you what to answer and example letters etc. I found this extremely helpful. Also the Court of Protection can advise you. I think you can claim some help with costs if you income is below a certain level. Other people on here will give lots of good advice. Please do not be put off and good luck. X

Id forgotten about that. Actually I got mums SW to fill it in (after the GP refused) and she didnt charge at all.