What to do if OPG can't investigate your concerns
This page provides information on what to do if OPG can't investigate your concern.
Applies to England and Wales
The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) can only investigate certain concerns.
This page explains what you can do when OPG can’t investigate.
If your concern is about someone who is not an attorney, deputy or guardian
Why we cannot investigate
OPG is only able to investigate if you are raising a concern about someone appointed to make decisions through an LPA, EPA, deputyship or guardianship.
We can’t look into your concerns if they are only about someone who knows the person, such as their spouse or child.
What you can do
Contact the social services team at the individual’s local authority. Local authorities have a duty to support to people who are at risk of financial, physical or emotional abuse.
If you think a crime has been committed, you should tell the police. Dial 101, the non-emergency police number.
The donor or P is deceased
Why we cannot investigate
If the donor or P is dead OPG cannot investigate your concerns because an LPA or EPA is cancelled when the person who made it dies, and a deputyship ends when P dies.
What you can do
Tell the donor or P’s bank or building society that they have died so they can freeze their accounts. This can prevent anyone using their money without permission.
Speak to the executor of the donor or P’s will. The executor can investigate concerns about their estate.
You can also apply to the Probate Service to register a warning (known as ‘a caveat’) against the donor or P’s estate. This can stop the executor of the will acting straight away. Find out more about this at www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance.
If you think someone committed a crime against the donor or P, tell the police. In some circumstances, the police can investigate a serious crime even though the alleged victim has died. Dial 101, the non-emergency police number.
The donor or P has mental capacity
Why we cannot investigate
If the donor of P has mental capacity to make their own decisions OPG can’t look into your concerns.
This is because the law says that you should not think a person is incapable of making a decision simply because they make an unwise one. If the donor can make a decision and understand the consequences, they should be supported in doing so, even if other people might not agree with the decision.
However, if you think a crime has been committed, you should tell the police. Dial 101, the non-emergency police number.
What the donor can do
If the donor has mental capacity and has concerns about how their LPA is being used, they can cancel it. They can also choose to remove specific attorneys, as long as there is at least one other attorney remaining. Or they can keep the LPA in place as it is, even if it seems their attorneys are not making the best decisions.
If your concerns relate to an LPA
Speak to the donor about your concerns. If they still has mental capacity to make their own decisions, they can tell you what action they want to take.
Contact the social services team at the donor’s local authority. Local authorities have a duty to support to people who are at risk of financial, physical or emotional abuse.
If your concerns relate to a deputyship
A deputyship should only continue while P does not have mental capacity. Ending the deputyship requires a court order from the Court of Protection.