The Court of Protection

We have one of the largest dedicated Court of Protection & deputyship teams in the country. We offer an efficient, personal and tailored service of a quality that few firms undertaking this work are able to provide.

Our team of highly regarded Court of Protection lawyers, based in Kent, have many years of experience between us, and we regularly receive direct referrals from other solicitors, barristers and professionals.

We provide straightforward, practical advice and have the skills and experience to ensure that the right decisions are made. We liaise with family, friends and care professionals and handle each situation with a high level of care and sensitivity

We have particular experience in dealing with issues related to brain and birth injuries and managing large personal injury or clinical negligence awards. We work closely with our specialist Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence teams. We also manage the affairs of many elderly clients with dementia.

Our specialist team of Court of Protection lawyers can help to:

• Explain the Court of Protection rules and options and guide you through the entire process
• Help you apply to have a deputy appointed for a relative or friend
• Act as a deputy for you, a relative or friend who lacks capacity
• Help existing deputies make applications (e.g. for gifts, wills and property transactions)
• Offer practical legal advice in your later life
• Prepare a Lasting Power of Attorney and advice donors and attorneys
• Set up a personal injury trust
• Act in contentious litigation situations e.g. where an application is contested
• Act as an expert witness for litigation lawyers when considering past and future professional costs.

When an individual lacks the capacity to manage their financial affairs, they may need a Court of Protection lawyer to assist with important financial decisions. A Court of Protection lawyer can help a person to make these decisions, should they lack the ability to do so themselves.

This may be due to learning difficulties, old age, mental health problems or due to the result of sustaining an acquired brain injury following an accident or medical negligence.

The Court of Protection makes decisions relating to the property, finances, health and welfare of people who lack mental capacity. The Court of Protection can delegate some of its authority by appointing a deputy. A Court of Protection lawyer is an expert who can assist you with Court of Protection matters.

You might need a Court of Protection lawyer if:

• You want a family member, friend or lawyer to take over the management of your financial affairs either now or in the future
• You are concerned about a loved one’s capacity to manage their affairs
• You are responsible for managing someone’s financial affairs (as a deputy or because you have Power of Attorney)
• You are concerned about the way someone’s affairs are being managed
• You are a personal injury and clinical negligence lawyer who needs an expert witness.

Our team of highly qualified Court of Protection lawyers, can put safeguards in place to ensure decisions are made in the best interests of a person who lacks capacity to manage their affairs. Thomson Snell & Passmore’s Court of Protection lawyers act with sensitivity and professionalism at all times.

To find out more about the role of the Court of Protection & deputies, click here.

A deputy is appointed by the Court of Protection to manage the affairs of someone who lacks the mental capacity to make decisions about their property, financial affairs and other matters.

A deputy can be:

• A friend or relative
• The local authority
• An experienced lawyer or (for property and financial affairs cases), a Trust Corporation, such as the Thomson Snell & Passmore Trust Corporation.

We can act as a Court of Protection deputy for someone who doesn’t have the capacity to manage their financial affairs. Alternatively we can assist you with an application to appoint a family member as deputy. Our award winning team is nationally recognised and one of the largest and most experienced in the country.

To find out more, please visit our dedicated appointing a deputy page.

We all hope to go on running our lives for as long as we can, but need to plan ahead for a time when we may need help in making decisions.

Lasting Powers of Attorney offer security and peace of mind for you and your family. This is a legal document where you appoint one or more people (the attorney) to act on your behalf, in circumstances where you no longer have capacity to make decisions yourself. You can decide who you appoint, what powers they have and specify any wishes you want followed.

Having a Lasting Power of Attorney in place can avoid the expense and the potential difficulties of Court of Protection Deputyship if you later need someone to act on your behalf.

There are two types of LPA:

• Property and financial affairs
• Health and welfare.

Find out more by reading our Lasting Powers of Attorney page.

If you are acting as a Court of Protection deputy or have Power of Attorney for someone else, you may want to consider making important decisions on their behalf such as:

• Making a will
• Making a major lifetime gift
• Withdrawing a large one-off sum (e.g. for the purchase of a property)

The Court of Protection exists to safeguard the property and financial affairs, and the health and welfare of those who lack capacity to make decisions for themselves, and only the Court of Protection can authorise certain decisions. Many factors influence the Court’s decision and need to be taken into account when preparing an application: the interests of the person who lacks capacity is paramount, other people can be affected and may not agree to what is proposed, and complex issues of trust and tax law are often involved.

Our Court of Protection team is one of the most experienced in the country in advising deputies and attorneys on formal applications for gifts, wills and property transactions, such as applying to the Court for authority to replace a co-owner of a property who has lost capacity.

To learn more, please visit our dedicated statutory wills, gifts & other applications page.

A personal injury trust is an arrangement where your trustees hold a personal injury award on your behalf. It normally acts as a form of financial protection to individuals who have capacity and therefore are not under the Court of Protection. One advantage of a personal injury trust is so that you can retain your entitlement to means tested benefits. This allows you to protect the damages you’ve received following a personal injury claim. If money is needed from the trust, the trustees must agree to its release.

Trustees are normally close friends and relatives. Many people also choose to have a lawyer as one of their trustees because an independent party can take an objective view if issues arise as to how the trust fund is spent.

A personal injury award is important for making sure you and your family get the support you need following a personal injury or medical negligence. Our Court of Protection lawyers can help you set up and run a Personal Injury Trust to ensure your money is protected.

Click here to find out more about personal injury trusts.

There are many reasons why someone might be considered vulnerable and in need of support. The individuals and families we help often need assistance as either they lack, or a loved one lacks, the ability to make decisions for themselves due to, for example, learning difficulties, old age, mental health problems or as a result of sustaining an acquired brain injury following an accident or medical negligence.

In all these cases it is vital that the individuals involved, and their families, have expert, trusted advice, which puts their needs first and ensures their access to the best and most appropriate help and support. Our team will consider these matters with you sensitively and professionally.

To find out how we can help, visit our dedicated supporting elderly & vulnerable people page.

With some of the most experienced Court of Protection lawyers in the country on our team, we can offer a fast, accurate expert witness service to personal injury and clinical negligence lawyers acting on behalf of claimants or defendants.

Accurately assessing damages relating to future Court of Protection costs is important whether you are acting for a claimant or defendant. We can provide the following expert witness services:

• Provide expert witness statements for claimant lawyers outlining the professional fees
• Court of Protection costs likely to be incurred – whether a lay or professional deputy is to be appointed
• Provide expert witness statements for defendant lawyers that assess and comment on the reasonableness of a claim for professional fees and Court of Protection costs
• Prepare informal assessments and expert witness reports on Court of Protection costs for defendant lawyers, where formal statements for service are not required
• Act as a joint expert for either claimant or defendant
• Attend court to provide evidence.

To find out more, please click here.