Deputies—appointment, duties and powers

Choosing the deputy

Any person may make a first application for the appointment of a deputy, although in practice most applications are made by (or on behalf of) a close relative. If there is no such person able or willing to make the application then the application may be made by a concerned friend, a solicitor or local authority. There is no requirement for permission so long as the application pertains to P's property and affairs.

The appointment of a deputy is made by the Court of Protection (the court) acting in its discretion, and no person has an automatic right to be appointed in priority to another. The court must consider the choice of deputy carefully having regard to the best interests of P. In practice, a deputy should be someone who:

  1. has the right level of skill and competence, and

  2. has a close personal connection to P

The court may appoint two or more deputies and they may be appointed jointly, jointly and severally, or jointly in respect of some matters and jointly and severally in respect of other matters.

Where there

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Latest Family News

High Court judgment demonstrates usefulness of section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in Schedule 1 claims (Re P (A Child) (Financial Provision))

Family analysis: In this Schedule 1 case the mother received, for her son’s benefit: a housing fund of nearly £1m (the property to be held on trust); child maintenance (including ‘HECSA’/carer’s allowance) until completion of his first degree; and lump sums in respect of his capital needs and her own substantial liabilities (chiefly relating to her unpaid legal fees). The father (whose resources could be measured in the ‘tens of millions of pounds’) had sought to prejudice the mother’s claims via transferring his valuable shares to family members, who then transferred the same into a trust structure (settled under Czech law). A further onwards transfer was then made of the trust’s assets into a Liechtenstein foundation. Inferences were drawn by the court in respect of the level of the father’s wealth, and specifically as to the value of the transferred shares. Detailed findings were made against him in respect of the identified transactions, which had been the focus of the mother’s section 423 application. Although a section 423(2) order was not actually made, the application was adjourned pending the father’s compliance with the award, with security in the sum of £600,000 also ordered, alongside a continuation of the freezing orders made earlier in the proceedings. David Wilkinson, solicitor at Slater Heelis, considers the issues.

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