Applying for COP

[Jayne47]

Hi,

I am new to this my first ever post!!!

My mum was sectioned under section 2 28 days ago, and is now staying in hospital under DOLS as does not meet the criteria for Section 3.

We have been advised that we cannot complete LPA or EPA as she does not have capacity, I am unclear if she is admitted under DOLS can we apply for COP.

We have also been informed that my mums dementia is more advanced that we initially thought, and that she is experiencing many psychotic illnesses as a part of this which they are aiming to treat and hopefully reduce, but that she will not be able to return home.

I would welcome any advice on the COP process and if this is something that we can as a family complete or do we need to approach a solicitor.

Many Thanks

 

[Cat27]

I can't answer your question but just wanted to say welcome to TP

I'm sure someone will be able to help you.

 

[canary]

Hello Jayne and welcome to TP.

I have successfully applied for COP deputyship myself and it is tedious, lots of paperpushing and form filling, but doable. I went to a solicitor for an original consultation which cost £150 and he filled in the majority of the application and advised me what to do, but a lot of people have done it all themselves by downloading the form off the internet. If there is a house to sell make sure that you request permission in the original form or it will have to go through the courts again.

Having a DOLS will not stop the COP application, in fact it will make it easier as it will be easy to provide evidence from a doctor/SW that she has lost capacity.

Good luck

 

[Delphie]

Hi Jayne47

I've done two Deputyships myself and I'd say that the best thing to start with is by having a look at the application forms. I think the most up to date ones are here https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy/apply-deputy but do check this out if you do decide to tackle this yourself.

As you'll see, the forms don't require any particular legal knowledge and mostly deal with factual information like names and addresses, assets, reasons for applying etc. My reasoning for going it alone was that a solicitor would need all this information from me anyway. But not everyone feels that way and lots of solicitors offer this service and prices vary so shop around if that's the option you choose.

As canary said, getting a doctor to certify that your mum has lost capacity should be made easier by these very difficult circumstances and the only other things I can think of off the top of my head are that the application costs £400 from memory (but there are exemptions if money is tight), and the waiting period for a Deputyship order can take quite some time, up to several months (although my second one came through quite quickly) so it's best to take a deep breath and get it done asap.

 

[Jayne47]

Hello Jayne and welcome to TP.

I have successfully applied for COP deputyship myself and it is tedious, lots of paperpushing and form filling, but doable. I went to a solicitor for an original consultation which cost £150 and he filled in the majority of the application and advised me what to do, but a lot of people have done it all themselves by downloading the form off the internet. If there is a house to sell make sure that you request permission in the original form or it will have to go through the courts again.

Having a DOLS will not stop the COP application, in fact it will make it easier as it will be easy to provide evidence from a doctor/SW that she has lost capacity.

Good luck

Thanks very much for the advice, just need to sit down in a quiet moment!!! and start the process.

 

[Poppy050691]

The COP process - confused?!

Hi,

my nan has recently been diagnosed with dementia and she is currently in hospital whilst we wait for things to be sorted with care homes etc. My mum has been advised to apply to be a deputy through COP, my nans solicitor has given her a few forms to fill out but my mum is extremely worried about having to attend court, she doesn't know whether she can handle the stress of obtaining a COP order mostly because her brother is being extremely annoying/controlling to the extent that she is considering whether it would be best to let the social services handle all the finances etc. Can anyone please advise whether my mum will need to attend court? I have tried researching online and can't seem to find a definite answer. Thanks in advance.

 

[Delphie]

Hi,

my nan has recently been diagnosed with dementia and she is currently in hospital whilst we wait for things to be sorted with care homes etc. My mum has been advised to apply to be a deputy through COP, my nans solicitor has given her a few forms to fill out but my mum is extremely worried about having to attend court, she doesn't know whether she can handle the stress of obtaining a COP order mostly because her brother is being extremely annoying/controlling to the extent that she is considering whether it would be best to let the social services handle all the finances etc. Can anyone please advise whether my mum will need to attend court? I have tried researching online and can't seem to find a definite answer. Thanks in advance.

I'm a Deputy for two people and handled both applications myself. I went online, had a look at the forms, contacted the court helpline a couple of times to make sure I was getting things right, then sent off the forms and got the Deputyship orders back through the post after a few weeks. No court attendance and nothing terribly complicated.

I think that's pretty typical, although some people do choose a solicitor to fill out the forms, as your mum seems to be doing.

If your mum doesn't want the responsibility of a Deputyship and doesn't want her brother to do it either then yes, they can both walk away from it and your nan's social services will sort out an application to the court. The only thing to remember there is that when someone from the family performs these duties they do so free of charage, whereas a court appointed Deputy will get paid from your nan's funds.

Hope that helps.

 

[Poppy050691]

I'm a Deputy for two people and handled both applications myself. I went online, had a look at the forms, contacted the court helpline a couple of times to make sure I was getting things right, then sent off the forms and got the Deputyship orders back through the post after a few weeks. No court attendance and nothing terribly complicated.

I think that's pretty typical, although some people do choose a solicitor to fill out the forms, as your mum seems to be doing.

If your mum doesn't want the responsibility of a Deputyship and doesn't want her brother to do it either then yes, they can both walk away from it and your nan's social services will sort out an application to the court. The only thing to remember there is that when someone from the family performs these duties they do so free of charage, whereas a court appointed Deputy will get paid from your nan's funds.

Hope that helps.

Hi, thanks so much for your reply. Would you say there's a lot of work involved after you are appointed deputy?

When you say a court appointed deputy will get paid - do you mean if my mum left it to the social services to deal with then the court would appoint somebody from the social services to be the deputy? What i really want to find out are what are the disadvantages of the social services dealing with my nan's assets, for example what order they would do things i.e selling the house etc, my mum is also concerned that shares that my nan has would be sold at a lower price for example to pay for the care home. It all seems such a minefield!

thanks you for your response! x

 

[care2share]

Hi, thanks so much for your reply. Would you say there's a lot of work involved after you are appointed deputy?

When you say a court appointed deputy will get paid - do you mean if my mum left it to the social services to deal with then the court would appoint somebody from the social services to be the deputy? What i really want to find out are what are the disadvantages of the social services dealing with my nan's assets, for example what order they would do things i.e selling the house etc, my mum is also concerned that shares that my nan has would be sold at a lower price for example to pay for the care home. It all seems such a minefield!

thanks you for your response! x

Hello Poppy050691

Having a court appointed professional deputy will certainly spend a vast amount of money very quickly so it would be better for your Mum to be brave and manage it herself. I don't think she'll have to attend the court unless it is a very complicated case or there is somebody objecting to the application. I don't think she will have to worry too much about her brother being very controlling etc. as it will most definitely be the court who are in control, not Mum or her brother. "Deputy" is the operative word. I think if your Mum wants to know what is actually happening with the finances then she would be best advised to go ahead and apply to be deputy as once there has been a professional appointed I doubt they'll reveal much detail to her, perhaps nothing at all. She may never see another bank statement. I must say, the people I've spoken to on the phone at COP enquiries have been very helpful, but I have found it difficult to get through without waiting for quite a while.
All the Best.

 

[canary]

The hardest thing about being a deputy is that you have to submit an annual financial report, although they try and make the form user friendly. You also have to keep all the receipts of things you have bought for her in case the court queries anything (usually they do not).

 

[Delphie]

Hi, thanks so much for your reply. Would you say there's a lot of work involved after you are appointed deputy?

When you say a court appointed deputy will get paid - do you mean if my mum left it to the social services to deal with then the court would appoint somebody from the social services to be the deputy? What i really want to find out are what are the disadvantages of the social services dealing with my nan's assets, for example what order they would do things i.e selling the house etc, my mum is also concerned that shares that my nan has would be sold at a lower price for example to pay for the care home. It all seems such a minefield!

thanks you for your response! x

I think the amount of work involved depends on how complicated and/or extensive the assets are. Deputies have to submit an annual report and I can imagine that being quite simple if, say, a couple of bank accounts are involved and not much more. In my case the reports can run and run because I'm looking after quite a lot, including several properties. Ultimately, though, it's just simple maths and being able to explain your decisions.

Also, the level of supervision is determined by the level of assets and how well the Deputy seems to be coping, but the thing to remember is that people from the Office of the Public Guardian (who do the supervising) are there to help so having a bit of contact from time to time is fine, reassuring even.

As far as who the court will appoint if no family member wants the responsibility, I can't say for sure, but it's likely to be someone like a solicitor. That's why it can get expensive! Their job, as with all Deputies, is to make decisions which are in the best interest of the person they're looking after and as you can probably imagine, there can be lots of shades of grey in that decision making process, so it's impossible to say what someone might decide for your nan. Sometimes it's best to wait for the highest price, sometimes circumstances dictate that it's better to accept a lower offer sooner, if you know what I mean. And, as someone from the OPG once told me, it's not just about pounds and pence either - I'm aware of previous wishes and do my best to accommodate those too. This is where, I think, family is better than a stranger.

Although I've written a fair bit, the most important thing I want to say is that it's doable, so if I could speak to your mum I would encourage her to have a go. If she does and then it all gets too much she can always step down.