Making A One Off Application To The Court Of Protection

The Court of Protection was created by the Mental Capacity Act (Act) and came into force on 1st October 2007. The Act comes into effect when a vulnerable person has been assessed by a medical professional to have lost mental capacity to make decisions in relation to either their health and welfare or their property and financial affairs.

As a result of this, the vulnerable person needs a Deputy to be appointed under the Court of Protection to make decisions for them and to manage their affairs. A Deputy can either be in a professional capacity or a lay Deputy such as family or friends. The key point to note is that the Deputy is responsible for managing the vulnerable person’s affairs and must act in accordance with the Office of the Public Guardian’s Deputy Standards.

How do you make a one off application to the Court of Protection?

In certain cases, a Deputy may need permission from the Court of Protection in order to process something that is very important for the protected person (the person who has lost mental capacity) and in their best interests. Such one off decisions can be as follows:

• The sale of the protected person’s property
• The acquisition of a property
• Carrying out a contract entered into by the protected person
• The conduct of legal proceedings on the protected person’s behalf
• Giving consent or refusal of consent for medical treatment the protected person is receiving
• Deciding what contact the protected person has with any specified persons
• Deciding who should be responsible for the protected person’s health care and to hold discussions with particular professionals about this

How do you make a one off application to the Court of Protection?

In order to progress a matter for the protected person, an application will need to be made to the Court of Protection by filing a COP1 form. This will highlight:

• Who the application is regarding;
• Why the application needs to be made; and
• What decision you wish the Court to make.

Various other forms may well need to be completed to accompany the COP1, such as a COP3 form which is a medical assessment to evidence that the protected person has lost capacity and a COP1A will need to be filed if financial information needs to be provided.

A fee of £365.00 also needs to be paid to the Court of Protection for making the application. If you are instructing a professional to submit the application on your behalf, there will also be fees that will be incurred for this. It is always best to consult a professional, such as ourselves, if you feel that you need assistance with making such an important application.