Court of Protection problems (COP) are in the headlines again, this time to do with contributing to a 4 year delay in reaching a life sustaining decision for 38 year old Jody Simpson who was in a ‘permanent vegetative state’ (PVS). Delays also occur where a person is in a ‘minimalist conscious state’ (MCS), the underlying reason for this is that no one seems to want to own the problem, but that is what the Court is there for…
The COP looks after the interests of vulnerable people, those who cannot make decisions for themselves. The Official Solicitor’s role is to protect the rights of the patient, to be the final place where the patient’s voice is heard, and make decisions in the best interests of the patient having considered the views of family, friends and (when appropriate) the Clinical team.
With us all living longer, having a Will in place is essential, having both Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) documents in place is easily of equal importance. Leave it too late, and you will not be able to put LPAs in place, which means your family or friends will have no choice but to apply for a Court of Protection deputyship to manage your day-to-day affairs.
Family circumstances may dictate one day that you will have to come face to face with the COP, with its mass of forms and archaic processes that confuse the best of us, good luck I say!
Getting LPAs in place takes a minimum 6 weeks, a deputyship will take 6 months, so when families need these important documents, waiting for ages is quite unhelpful and like most legal processes, things are not going to change much in a hurry.
If you want to find out more about LPAs, or just want to get them in place, or if you have an elderly relative in need of a COP deputyship, you can rely on us to help you get there in the cleanest simplest way possible. What we will do is shield you as much as we can from them so you can get on with looking after your loved one.
Contact Us here for help.
