Deputyship costs

[tealover]

Hello

well, Mum wouldn't sign the POA papers because she got muddled and also thought the Solicitor was asking her to sign so she could have access to her money!

I have asked time again if Mum has capacity, and get told that it depends in relation to what. However, my sibling and I have discussed that to pursue the POA we would probably end up in the same situation, whilst the Solicitor fee goes up, up, up.

So it looks like we will need to consider Deputyship.

I've just been reading through some of the guidance on the internet......it seems hellishly expensive not only for the donor, but also for the deputy.

Can anybody who has been through deputyship advise me please what is the cost to them inclusive of security bonds and how frequently there is a cost to them? Neither of us are well off altho Mum is (however this will be her source of funding in CH for the next 10 years or so), and the likelihood is that whilst this may be the next best thing we can do, we may not be able to afford it.

Any help please lovely TP-ers?

TIA

x

 

[Norfolkgirl]

Hello

well, Mum wouldn't sign the POA papers because she got muddled and also thought the Solicitor was asking her to sign so she could have access to her money!

I have asked time again if Mum has capacity, and get told that it depends in relation to what. However, my sibling and I have discussed that to pursue the POA we would probably end up in the same situation, whilst the Solicitor fee goes up, up, up.

So it looks like we will need to consider Deputyship.

I've just been reading through some of the guidance on the internet......it seems hellishly expensive not only for the donor, but also for the deputy.

Can anybody who has been through deputyship advise me please what is the cost to them inclusive of security bonds and how frequently there is a cost to them? Neither of us are well off altho Mum is (however this will be her source of funding in CH for the next 10 years or so), and the likelihood is that whilst this may be the next best thing we can do, we may not be able to afford it.

Any help please lovely TP-ers?

TIA

x

I understood that the funds to pay for Deputyship could come from your mum's estate rather than yours.

From what I can gather being on TP reading such topics call the OPG with your above concerns, which I think is a free call, they should be able to advise.

I found this site, scroll to bottom final paragraph "All fees are payable......", http://www.lindermyers.co.uk/faqs-for-court-of-protection_757.html

 

[Saffie]

Can anybody who has been through deputyship advise me please what is the cost to them inclusive of security bonds and how frequently there is a cost to them? Neither of us are well off altho Mum is (however this will be her source of funding in CH for the next 10 years or so), and the likelihood is that whilst this may be the next best thing we can do, we may not be able to afford it.

The cost to you should be negligible financially but expensive where time and record-keeping are concerned as there are a number of forms involved in the application and an annual report has to be completed every year.
For your mother, the application cost is - or was - £400.
The bond will vary according to the size of the estate, as will the OPG annual supervision cost so it is difficult to give a costing.
The bond my husband had was a one-off payment although I gather others have to pay one annually.

All the above relates to arranging the Depyurtyship yourself.
If you use a solicitor, as seems likely from your post, I couldn't possibly comment I'm afraid.

 

[Wirralson]

However

In my mother's case we used a solicitor as my father's age and my circumstances made doing it ourselves impracticable, aside from other issues. Solicitors are covered by their professional indemnity insurance, so the issue will be their fees, which are (or can be) taken from the assets of the person with dementia. My advice is shop around - rates vary considerably and depend on the complexity of the assets involved. However, in practice I'd suggest you should expect around £1,500 + VAT (=£1,800) in the first year and around £1,200 +VAT (=£1,440) in the second and subsequent years as a minimum for management of the assets plus the annual reporting fee, which is around £235+VAT (=£282) plus the same again for a tax return. The CoP has rules on charging where assets are less than £16k - around 4.5%. That's what my mum's case cost (plus application) and is in line with the link posted above.

W

PS I don;t know where the "However" came from in this post and can't get rid of it.

 

[jenniferpa]

Wirralson - did you mean you had a professional acting as the Deputy? I think in the OPs case they were thinking about using a solicitor to make the application rather than have the solicitor as a deputy.

 

[tealover]

Good Morning all

Sorry, our intention is that I will complete the forms, we were only acting through a solicitor as the advice I was getting from SW, Mem Nurses, and others was so confusing about Certificate Providers (Mum was in patient).....therefore we decided to go through a solicitor to ensure it was done correctly. Long story, but when it came to signing Mum didn't because she didn't trust the solicitor!

Sooooo, we are going down COP route, and your advice is most valuable.

firstly - Norfolkgirl, thank you for that link, does anybody else know which other forms I need to print out to complete - the link talks about COP3 which is one completed by a medical practitioner....but says there are 4 in total.

secondly - does the bond come out of Mum's estate too? I am sure I had read that the deputy needed to take insurance out to protect themselves.....so I assumed this was something I would need to pay annually.

thirdly - anything else that you can advise me would be very much appreciated - oh, another thing springs to mind, I read somewhere else I need to have a minimum of 3 people to notify..... there is only my brother and I - he doesn't want to do it but agrees he should be notified. Mum's friends have all disappeared, not a church-goer, does anybody else have any suggestions whom I should notify and also why it needs to be 3?!?

Many thanks, your support is so valuable!!

x

 

[BenT]

Hello

The forms needed are:

COP1 - application form

COP1a - financial details

COP3 - capacity assessment

COP4 - deputy declaration

COP21 - witness statement (if you want to give more details)

Court fee

The bond comes out of the person's - in this case your mother's - estate. Essentially, she is taking out insurance to protect herself against the deputy actions. It does need to paid annually. You may have to pay this yourself first as the Court won't release the Order appointing you as deputy until it's in place but you can then reimburse yourself.

You don't need to name 3 people. Some people ought to be notified about the application i.e. those who see your mum regularly. Sometimes it's one or two others more and sometimes none. It's a check and balance for the Court. You can insert your brother's details + a carer if there is someone like that. Or if it's solely your brother put him in and explain in the COP21 (see above) that there's only one because none of her friends are around and no one visits her for example.

Regards

BenT

 

[tealover]

BenT

thank you that is fabulous, very helpful thank you so much.

I will start to download them this evening and crack on.

Many thanks

 

[nitram]

You might find >>>THIS<<< useful.

You can download all the forms and guidance notes you need >>>HERE<<< either individually or as kit

 

[Wirralson]

Wirralson - did you mean you had a professional acting as the Deputy? I think in the OPs case they were thinking about using a solicitor to make the application rather than have the solicitor as a deputy.

Both. My mistake.