Court of Protection Deputyship England

Your parent has lost mental capacity. No Lasting Power of Attorney was ever signed. The bank has frozen their accounts, the care home wants payment, and you have no legal authority to do anything about it.

This is the situation Court of Protection deputyship is designed for — and it is slower, more expensive, and more invasive than anyone expects.

What Deputyship Actually Means

A deputyship order is the court's way of appointing someone to make decisions for a person ("P") who can no longer make those decisions themselves. Unlike an LPA, which your parent chooses to create, deputyship is imposed by the court after the fact.

There are two types. Property and affairs deputyship covers finances — bank accounts, pensions, property, bills. This is what most families need. Personal welfare deputyship covers care and medical decisions, but courts grant these rarely, usually only when there's an intractable dispute about where P should live or what treatment they should receive.

The Application Process Step by Step

1. Get the Capacity Assessment (Form COP3)

A qualified practitioner — usually a GP, consultant psychiatrist, or social worker — must complete Form COP3 to certify that your parent lacks the mental capacity to make specific decisions. GPs typically charge £100 to £300 for this assessment. Private specialists can charge more.

2. Notify Everyone Who Needs to Know

Before you can file with the court, you must complete the "upfront notification" process:

• Notify your parent using Form COP14PADep, explaining what you're applying for
• Notify at least three people with an interest in your parent's welfare using Form COP15PADep — this usually means siblings, a social worker, or a doctor
• Wait 14 days for anyone to respond or object

If nobody objects within 14 days, you can proceed. If you don't file your application within three months of sending these notifications, the entire process must be repeated.

3. Submit the Application Packet

The core forms:

• COP1 — the main application
• COP1A (for property and affairs) or COP1B (for personal welfare)
• COP3 — the capacity assessment from step one
• COP4 — your declaration as the proposed deputy

The application fee is £432 (from 13 July 2026). If the court orders a hearing to resolve a dispute, an additional £266 hearing fee applies.

4. The Security Bond

Once the court approves your appointment as property and affairs deputy, you must take out a security bond — an insurance policy protecting your parent's estate against mismanagement. The court sets the bond amount based on your parent's total assets. Annual premiums typically run around 0.075% of the bond value — roughly £75 per year on a £100,000 bond.

You cannot receive the sealed court order until the bond is in place.

5. Post-Appointment Registration

After receiving the sealed order, you must notify your parent using Form COP14 within 14 days. The OPG then charges a one-off assessment fee of £100 and begins annual supervision.

The Ongoing Cost

Deputyship is not a one-time process. Every year you will owe:

• £320 annual supervision fee (general supervision) — or £35 if your parent's assets are below £21,000
• Security bond premium — based on the bond amount
• Time — you must submit a detailed annual financial report (Form OPG102) accounting for every transaction you made on your parent's behalf

Compare this to an LPA, which costs £92 to register and has no ongoing fees, no bond, and no annual reporting requirement.

How Long Does It Take

Applications where the paperwork is complete typically take six to twelve months. If family members dispute the application, or if the court requires a hearing, the timeline can stretch beyond twelve months.

During this entire period, your parent's bank accounts remain frozen and you have no legal authority to manage their finances. Some families end up paying care costs out of their own pockets for months while waiting for the order to come through.

Emergency applications exist for situations involving immediate clinical danger or imminent asset loss, but the court sets a high bar for urgency.

The Alternative You May Have Missed

If your parent still has any periods of mental clarity — even intermittent ones — it may not be too late for an LPA. Capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is decision-specific and can fluctuate. A GP assessment during a lucid period could support an LPA execution, saving your family thousands of pounds and months of court proceedings.

The England Lasting Power of Attorney & Deputyship Kit covers both pathways — the full LPA process for families who still have a window, and the complete deputyship application sequence for those who don't. It includes every form reference, every signing requirement, and the cost calculations that help you understand exactly what you're facing.

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