Persons appointed as a deputy by the Court of Protection are reporting difficulty dealing with employees of financial service providers, utility companies and local authorities, say experts. Institutions regularly question the validity of a court-appointed Deputyship for a person who lacks mental capacity, often asking (not unreasonably) to see the sealed court order, but then not knowing what it is they are seeing.

To deal with this the UK Regulators Network published guidance notes which were written in collaboration with the Office of the Public Guardian. It aims to make things easier for policy makers and utility companies who have become more risk averse.

The guidance provides examples of what a valid court order looks like, whether an office or certified copy is needed and when they can be certain that it should be used.

To avoid all of this we recommend that our clients take the precaution of creating LPAs, as a registered and certified copy of an LPA is more widely recognised by financial institutions and utility companies. Not to mention avoiding the great expense of a deputyship application and the ongoing involvement thereafter by the OPG.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.