Court of protection order

A Court of Protection (CoP) order is a legal document that gives a deputy the authority to make decisions on behalf of a donor who’s no longer able to make decisions for themselves due to limitations on their mental capacity.

You can find out how to apply to become a court-appointed deputy and the fees involved on the GOV.UK website. If your application is urgent or an emergency, you can apply for an emergency interim order.

Important information:

• The deputy must be over 18
• A CoP only lasts as long as the donor is alive
• A CoP isn’t like a joint bank account – a deputy won’t have any legal claim to any money

There are many reasons why a person may lack mental capacity. The Office of Public Guardian can provide guidance on this, along with support during the application of a deputy/deputies.

Deputies are authorised by the Court of Protection in instances where a person has lost mental capacity and require help managing their finances.

Examples where a Court appointed deputy may be appropriate are

• Brain injury or illness
• Dementia
• Severe learning disabilities

There are many reasons why a person may lack mental capacity. Guidance can be provided by the Office of Public Guardian along with support during the application of a deputy/deputies.

When it comes to court of protection orders, there are two types of deputy.

• Property and financial affairs deputy
• Personal welfare deputy (we do not accept this)
• To set up a deputy on a Cashplus account, the individual must be the property and financial affairs deputy.

Being someone’s deputy comes with responsibilities and rules you need to follow. It also requires you to make decisions in the person’s best interests. Read more on your responsibilities as a deputy.

If there’s more than one deputy, you’ll need to set out how you’ll act together to make decisions. We explain the two options available for this below.

Jointly – all deputies will need to be present to carry out actions.

Jointly and severally – deputies can act independently, or together.

If a Court of Protection Order is applied to a Cashplus account, the deputy is able to:

• have statements sent to their address
• update address details
• add, remove and cancel standing orders and Direct Debits and
• open and close accounts.

To register a Court of Protection Order with us, you’ll need to call our team to notify us, and then mail or email a copy of the Court of Protection order.

We’ve outlined the process for registering a third party here.

If you have concerns about the actions of a deputy, you can contact the Office of the Public Guardian support line. More details can be found at gov.uk/report-concern-about-attorney-deputy-guardian