Helping someone manage their finances – what can you do?
If you notice that someone you are close to is getting confused and is struggling to manage their money, what can you do to help?
If the person has planned ahead and they’ve put a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place, their chosen Attorneys may be able to start helping them straight away, if the LPA has been registered. If the LPA hasn’t been registered, they can arrange for that to be done so they can help.
But what if they haven’t planned ahead?
If they are struggling, but still have the ability to understand that they need help, it’s important to get a Lasting Power of Attorney in place immediately. The person has to be able to choose who they want to look after things and to be able to understand what this means for them. The process of setting up LPAs can take from 8-12 weeks approximately.
If they have reached a stage where they can’t choose who should help them or to understand the process, someone is going to have to ask the Court of Protection for permission to manage things for them.
Court of Protection
The Court of Protection is a specialist court that makes decisions on financial or welfare matters when people can’t make decisions at the time they need to be made.
They check whether the person can make decisions for themselves and if they can’t, they can appoint someone to make decisions for them. That person is known as a Deputy.
Deputy
The role of a Deputy is to look after the person’s finances within the boundaries of the permission set out by the Court of Protection.
Asking the court for permission to help
To ask the court for permission, you need to be able to show that the person can’t make their own decisions anymore and you will need a report from a doctor or specialist confirming this is the case. You will also need to tell the court about the person’s financial affairs and their family set up.
It can be a slow process to gather the information, obtain the report from the doctor and for the court to consider the application. In our experience it can take around 6 -12 months to get permission from the court. Before that permission is given you will not be able to help manage their money.
Clearly it is always better to plan ahead, but if no LPA is in place and you need to ask the Court of Protection for permission to help, we can assist and advise you with the process.
