Deputies - the requirement to keep proper accounts

Many families do not consider how the affairs of an elderly relative are going to be handled until it is too late. If a person has mental capacity they are able to appoint one or more people to deal with their affairs in the event that they become mentally incapacitated and this person is called an Attorney. It is possible to make a Lasting Power of Attorney to deal with property and finances and/or health and welfare.

Solicitors' firms tend to receive calls from families asking if they can assist with the preparation of Lasting Power of Attorney only once an elderly relative has been moved into residential care. The first question a solicitor will ask in this situation is whether the relative has mental capacity. If they are no longer able to deal with their affairs, it will be too late for them to appoint an Attorney.

The alternative procedure is for someone (usually a member of the family) to make an application to the Court of Protection to be appointed a Deputy. This is a largely similar role to that of an Attorney in that the Deputy is charged with managing the affairs of the person in question, but it is a formal Court appointment and process is likely to take months rather than weeks and will usually cost considerably more than appointing an Attorney. One of the first steps to appoint a Deputy is to commission an appropriately qualified medical practitioner to prepare an assessment of capacity.

Once appointed as a Deputy, one of the key responsibilities is for the Deputy to keep a record of the money spent on behalf of the person in question. England's Public Guardian has recently recommended to Parliament some improvements in relation to the supervision of Deputies, including the introduction of Annual Deputyship Plans, Asset Inventories and Charging Estimates. An issue of concern has been the charges made by professional Deputies in some circumstances.

The consequence of these proposals is that the money spent by Deputies is likely to be subject to much closer scrutiny in future years.

If you are considering being appointed a Deputy or currently hold this role and would like to discuss these issues further, contact us.