Court of Protection and deputyships

The specialist Court of Protection solicitors at Penningtons Manches Cooper have established a significant reputation for advising and assisting individuals, their families, carers, trustees, beneficiaries and other professionals on a broad range of issues relating to personal injury trusts, capacity, deputyships and panel deputyships.

Where an individual is compensated for a personal injury, there may be substantial funds awarded. These will require skilful management in order to provide the care and support needed for the duration of the lifetime of that individual. Recognised by both Chambers UK and The Legal 500, our Court of Protection solicitors have extensive experience in dealing with high value compensation awards of this type.

Many of our clients may lack capacity to handle their own financial affairs. This may arise from an acquired brain injury or be due to Alzheimer’s or dementia, while some children may be considered unlikely to have that capacity when they reach the age of 18. We provide the comprehensive service required to set up and manage deputyships within the Court of Protection. Our solicitors can act as professional deputies and assist with Court of Protection procedures where the deputy is a family member.

We work closely with the Court of Protection, the individual and their family to establish long-term relationships and to ensure all decisions are made in their best interests. Our aim is to relieve the pressure of financial decision making from family members, enabling them to continue to make the key choices and to support their relative on a day-to-day basis.

Our Court of Protection team is on the Office of the Public Guardian’s list of panel deputies. We are often appointed by the Court of Protection when no one else is able to act as a deputy for someone who lacks mental capacity, one of only 68 firms in the country to have been selected by the Office of the Public Guardian to act in this role.

Where the compensated individual has capacity to manage their own financial affairs, our solicitors can set up personal injury trusts and also provide ongoing professional trustee services for the protection of the compensation award.