Court of Protection

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 established The Court of Protection to look after the rights of those people who do not have the mental capacity to make decisions regarding their personal welfare, property and affairs.

The Court of Protection is designed to protect vulnerable people and has the power to make decisions for them should they be unable to make a decision for themselves. Indeed, it can appoint a deputy to take decisions on their behalf.

It can, for example:

• make decisions on a person’s welfare or financial matters.
• remove deputies who the court considers, are not acting correctly.
• decide on the validity of enduring or lasting power of attorney and hear cases of objection to these legal documents.

This legislation can be used in all manner of situations and is particularly useful in personal injury or medical negligence cases that involve a large amount of compensation, where an injured person has lost their capacity to make decisions for themselves.

A specialist solicitor will work closely with the appointed deputy to ensure that the amount of compensation recovered is as much as possible. Once compensation has been agreed the solicitor will then, with the assistance of an Independent Financial Adviser, set-up a trust in order to administer the terms of the settlement and achieve the desired care objectives.