The Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 came into effect on 31st July 2019 following reports of the need for an application process to enable the appointment of a Guardian, when a person is officially listed as missing. The High Court application asks for the authority to be provided to the Guardian to manage the financial affairs of a missing person.
In what must be a very difficult time for families, the authority provided by the Court is similar to that given to a Deputy (when a vulnerable adult has lost the mental capacity to manage their affairs) and is also supervised by the same Government Department, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG).
Low number of applications
It has been just over the year since the legislation came into force, yet we have found that very few applications have been made. The OPG’s Report for 2019-2020 confirms that since the launch in July 2019 they are only supervising two Guardians.
The OPG’s Report confirmed that:
“There was a significant amount of work involved in the implementation of this new legislation and many teams within OPG and across MOJ were heavily involved.”
Some may say the appointment of two is enough, the support being provided to those families is much better than what was available before the new law regardless of the implementation costs. However, it may also be the lack of communication by the OPG and others means that some families are continuing to struggle in silence.
How can Nelsons help?
Gemma Hopper is an Associate in our expert Court of Protection team.
At Nelsons, we assist many families in making applications to be appointed as a Deputy and our approach can be there to support families in taking the necessary steps in becoming a Guardian.
For further information, please contact Gemma or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.