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What the Court of Protection does

The Court of Protection makes decisions for people who are unable to do so for themselves. It can also appoint someone (called a deputy) to act for people who are unable to make their own decisions. These decisions are for issues involving the person’s property, financial affairs, health and personal welfare.

The Court of Protection can:

• decide whether a person is able (‘has capacity’) to make a particular decision for themselves
• make decisions on financial or welfare matters on behalf of people who are unable to do so
• appoint a deputy to act for someone who is unable to make their own decisions
• remove deputies or attorneys who fail to carry out their duties
• decide whether a Lasting or Enduring Power of Attorney is valid
• hear cases concerning objections to the registration a Lasting Power of Attorney or Enduring Power of Attorney

The Court of Protection Charter tells you what kind of treatment you can expect if you have to make decisions for someone else. You can make a complaint about the Court of Protection if you are not happy with the level of service you receive.

• What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

• Download Charter - Court of Protection (PDF, 136K)

• 'I want to complain: what do I do?' - Court of Protection guidance and form Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

Why you might need to apply to the Court of Protection

There are a number of reasons why you might need to apply to the Court of Protection. You might want to:

• ask the court to make a decision about someone’s property and financial affairs or their health and welfare
• apply to be made a deputy for someone
• make a will on behalf of someone
• object to the registration of a power of attorney

You can read more about how to make an application to the Court of Protection.

• Making an application to the Court of Protection

• Urgent and fast-track applications to the Court of Protection

Before you apply to the Court of Protection – what you need to do

Sometimes, if a person is finding it difficult to make a decision, with the right help and support they may be able to do so. You should do everything you can to encourage and support the person to make a decision on their own.

When helping someone else to make a decision, there are important things to remember:

• make sure they have all the relevant information they need to be able to make the decision
• make sure they are aware of all the options they have
• make sure everything has been explained in a way they can understand – you may wish to use pictures, photographs or videos, for example
• make sure they haven’t been pressured into making a decision when they don’t want to or are stressed or anxious
• just because someone makes a decision that you do not agree with, this does not mean that they are unable to make the decision

Before deciding to make a decision on behalf of someone else, you must reasonably believe that they lack the ability to do it themselves. This means you need to judge their ability - although you are not expected to be an expert. You can read more information about how to do this and how to make decisions for someone else.

Decisions you can make without applying to the Court of Protection

If you care for someone who lacks capacity, you can make certain small decisions for them without asking the Court of Protection. These include some decisions around personal care, healthcare, or other treatment – provided that it is carried out in the best interest of the person.

Doctors and local authorities can make decisions about treatment and accommodation and do not normally need to apply to court to do so. For example, this could include decisions that need to be made quickly for someone’s healthcare.

What to do if you're concerned about your own arrangements

If you have concerns for yourself, you can choose somebody you trust to make decisions on your behalf. These might be decisions about your property and affairs, or your personal welfare. This is called a Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA.

For more information on how to do this, follow the link below.

• Making legal arrangements in case you lose mental capacity

Useful contacts

• Government, citizens and rights contacts