Deputies: make decisions for someone who lacks capacity
Who can apply to be a deputy
You can apply to be a deputy if you’re 18 or over. Deputies are usually close relatives or friends of the person who needs help making decisions.
If you want to become a property and affairs deputy, you need to have the skills to make financial decisions for someone else.
The court can appoint 2 or more deputies for the same person.
When there’s more than one deputy
When you apply, tell the court how you’ll make decisions if you’re not the only deputy. It will be either:
- together (‘joint deputyship’), which means all the deputies have to agree on the decision
- separately or together (‘jointly and severally’), which means deputies can make decisions on their own or with other deputies
Other types of deputy
Some people are paid to act as deputies, for example accountants, solicitors or representatives of the local authority.
The Court of Protection can appoint a specialist deputy (called a ‘panel deputy’) from a list of approved law firms and charities if no one else is available.