Court of Protection
If you haven't arranged for someone to manage your money and you can't make decisions anymore, someone will need to ask the Court of Protection to do it for you.
The court of protection make decisions on financial or welfare matters for people who can’t make decisions at the time they need to be made (they ‘lack mental capacity’).
The court of protection will:
- Decide if someone can make their own decisions (they 'have mental capacity').
- Choose people (called deputies) to make decisions for those who can't.
- Allow people to make one-time decisions for someone else.
- Handle urgent cases where quick decisions are needed.
- Deal with issues about the power of attorney (legal permission to act for someone else).
- Look at requests to make wills or gifts for someone.
- Decide when someone can be kept in a place for their own safety under the law.