Our Court of Protection Pricing

The free initial consultation is limited to a one-hour appointment at one of our branch offices. It is intended to be a ‘fact-finding’ session to enable us to provide you with the necessary advice and guidance to provide us with clear instructions.

We will seek to establish:

• Who can apply for the deputyship order
• Which order you need to apply for
• Is there anything urgent which can be dealt with now
• Next steps

Should you require a home visit, a fee of £150 plus VAT shall apply.

The fixed price quoted includes advice on the following: –

1. Meet with you to discuss the application
2. Prepare the documentation
3. Assist you in arranging a capacity assessment
4. Make the application to the Court
5. Keep you updated throughout

Examples of services not included within the price

Court fees – Remissions and exemptions

In order to apply to the Court of Protection for an order to be made, there is a court application fee (currently £408) to be paid.

After an order has been made, there is a deputy assessment fee and annual supervision fees which may be applicable. The person in respect of whom an order is made may be entitled to a reduction in the applicable fees depending on their finances.

Our fee does not include assisting you with an application for a remission (where your client gets a 50% reduction in deputy fees based on their financial circumstances) or an exemption (where your client does not have to pay deputy fees because they get certain means-tested benefits).

Examples of additional legal work which may be necessary

• eIDV checks
  • Where you are unable to provide to us an original copy of your identity documents then we are able to undertake electronic identity verification checks at a fee of £25 plus VAT per check.
• Additional work outside of the application to the Court of Protection:
  • Additional charges will apply if you require our assistance for any additional matters i.e. assisting with the management of the affairs of the person in respect of whom an order is made. Depending on the services which are required, a bespoke quotation will be provided to you.
• In addition to Deputyship applications, further applications to the Court may be required, such as an application for a statutory will.
  • We will provide a bespoke quotation for our services and court fees will also be payable for an application such as this, as per the below information.
  • See below table for our current hourly rates:
    • Partners/Members: £260.00 per hour plus VAT
    • Assistant Solicitors: £210.00 per hour plus VAT
    • Trainee Solicitors/Paralegals: £195.00 per hour plus VAT
  •  All fee quotes are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate.

Disbursements

You must pay:-

• A fee to apply to be a deputy.
  The application fee is currently £408.
• A supervision fee every year after you’ve been appointed
  You’ll pay:-
  • £320 for general supervision.
  • £35 for minimal supervision – this applies to some property and affairs deputies managing less than £21,000
• An assessment fee of £100

You may also have to pay to set up a ‘security bond’ before you can be appointed as a property and affairs deputy. You’ll also need to pay £494 if the court decides that your case needs a hearing. The court will tell you when you need to pay this. It is also possible that a fee will need to be paid to the professional undertaking the mental capacity assessment.

VAT on Solicitors Fees

Our professional charges are subject to payment of VAT. Please note that vat will be payable at the prevailing rate as at the invoice date. You will be provided with a VAT Invoice in respect of our charges.

Following our initial appointment, drafts of the forms will be prepared as quickly as possible. It may be that supplemental information is required from you / the professional who will undertake the capacity assessment and a further appointment may be required.

We will also be dependent upon third parties, such as the professional undertaking the capacity assessment, who will need to complete and return a form before we can submit our application to the Court of Protection.

Depending on the circumstances, you may also need to obtain permission from the Court to apply for the order.

Once the application is submitted to the Court of Protection, and the application has been issued by the Court, it is likely to take at least 6 months for an order to be made, provided that no queries are raised by the Court in respect of the application.

The application may take longer than this, especially if further information is requested by the Court.

Head of Department

Our Head of Department is Emma Donovan. Emma is responsible for supervising our team of private client lawyers.