Incapacity Arrangements

These are sensitive, often complex, situations that can be made much easier to navigate with the right legal advice and provisions put in place.

Our family lawyers can help clients and their families get the right arrangements in place with a Lasting Power of Attorney before incapacity becomes an issue. Or we ensure you can help a loved one to manage their affairs if they have already lost the ability to do some themselves with an application to the Court of Protection.

We can advise on your on all of the legal aspects of Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection deputyship, including the choice of attorney or deputy, the process of their appointment and setting the framework for their duties.

We also support attorneys and deputies who need a helping hand in dealing with a mentally incapacitated person’s affairs and welfare.

Speak to one of our incapacity arrangements solicitors now by calling 0117 909 4000 or contact your local Henriques Griffiths office in Bristol or Winterbourne.

Our incapacity arrangements services

We work with individuals and their families all over England and Wales, helping to make it as simple and stress-free as possible to deal with Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection deputyship.

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA)

An LPA allows you to nominate one or more people to act as your ‘attorney’ if at some point in the future you lose the capacity to make important decisions for yourself.

Your attorney or attorneys will then be responsible for either helping you make decisions or to make them on your behalf.

You will need to be 18 or over and still deemed to have mental capacity when making an LPA. If you need to manage the affairs of a loved one who has already lost mental capacity, you will instead need to apply to become a Court of Protection deputy.

There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney. You can set up either one or both depending on the circumstances.

Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney – This allows an attorney to make decisions about issues such as your medical care, whether you should be moved into a care home, if life-sustaining treatment should be provided and day-to-day issues, such as washing, dressing and dietary considerations.

Property & Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney – This allows an attorney to make decisions about issues such as managing your bank account, collecting your pension, paying bills and selling your home.

Court of Protection Deputyship

Becoming a Court of Protection deputy allows you to manage the affairs of a loved one who has already lost mental or physical capacity.

You will need to apply to the Court of Protection to become a deputy and they will need to be convinced that of all of the following:

1. The person in question has genuinely lost capacity.
2. There is doubt about whether decisions will be made in a person’s best interests without a deputy being appointed.
3. There are specific issues that need to be resolved.

There are two types of Court of Protection deputyship you can apply for:

Property and financial affairs deputy – Allows you to handle things like paying a loved one’s bills or managing their pension.

Personal welfare deputy – Allows you to make decisions about a loved one’s medical treatment and how they are looked after.

Why choose Henriques Griffiths’ incapacity arrangements solicitors?

Our family lawyers have decades of experience supporting families with all of the legal issues connected to Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection deputyship.

We offer a sympathetic, straightforward approach to help you effectively resolve these issues and make sure your loved ones have all the help and support they need to manage their affairs.

Alongside our family law team, we have a Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accredited property team who can help with any property issues that arise when acting as an attorney or Court of Protection deputy.

We are also Lexcel accredited by the Law Society for our practice management and client care, and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) providing assurance that we continually meet the highest legal and professional standards.

Get in touch with our incapacity arrangements solicitors

For help with a Lasting Power of Attorney or Court of Protection deputyship, please call us on 0117 909 4000 or use the links below to make an enquiry or request a call back.