Controllership Northern Ireland: What Happens When No EPA Exists
Controllership Northern Ireland: What Happens When No EPA Exists
Your parent has dementia and never signed an Enduring Power of Attorney. Their savings account is frozen, care home bills are piling up, and no one in the family can legally access their money. This is the reality that forces thousands of Northern Irish families into the controllership process every year.
Controllership is the court-appointed alternative when an EPA was not set up before a person lost mental capacity. It works, but it is slow, expensive, and tightly supervised by the Office of Care and Protection (OCP) at the High Court.
How Controllership Differs from an EPA
An Enduring Power of Attorney is a voluntary document signed while a person still has capacity, costing around £189 in court fees. Controllership is a court order imposed after capacity is lost.
| EPA | Controllership | |
|---|---|---|
| Court fees | £189 registration | £326 commencement + £189 appointment |
| Solicitor costs | £200–£500 typical | Minimum £1,368 plus VAT (uncontentious work) |
| Ongoing fees | None | Annual admin fees up to £570 |
| Spending limits | Attorney manages freely | Court approval needed for any expense over £500 |
| Timeline | Weeks | Several months |
The annual oversight is the part that catches families off guard. A controller must submit vouched accounts to the OCP every year, secure a security bond, and get written court permission before spending more than £500 on any single item for the patient.
The Controllership Application Process
- Complete the application form. List the patient's full assets: bank accounts, savings, property, pensions, and any debts.
- Obtain a medical certificate. A registered doctor must formally confirm the loss of mental capacity.
- Serve notice on the patient. An independent third party (not the proposed controller) must personally serve a Notice of Application on the patient. A Certificate of Service is then filed with the court.
- File everything with the OCP. Submit the application, medical certificate, notice of service, and pay the £326 commencement fee.
If the patient's total estate is under £20,000, the OCP may issue a Short Procedure Order instead of full controllership. This is cheaper but limited — it authorises handling of benefits, pensions, and care home fees but cannot manage property sales or complex assets.
The Three-Month Deadline
Under OCP Practice Note 1 of 2024, if a controller is not formally appointed within three months of the court order's confirmation, the OCP will refer the estate to an independent solicitor. That means your family loses administrative control, and the solicitor's professional fees come out of your parent's estate.
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When Controllership Is Unavoidable
If your parent's bank is refusing access and bills are mounting, controllership may be the only path forward. But families who still have time — particularly those whose parent has an early-stage dementia diagnosis — can avoid this entire process by setting up an EPA while capacity remains.
The Northern Ireland Dementia Care Guide covers both pathways in detail, including the exact OCP forms, fee schedules, and a decision framework for when controllership is genuinely necessary versus when an EPA is still possible.
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Download the Northern Ireland — Dementia Support Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.