Court of Protection Costs

The Court of Protection is a court in England that is able to make decisions on behalf of someone who lacks mental capacity to make decisions for themselves regarding their welfare , property and affairs, including financial affairs.

Understandably, it can be a difficult and complicated time for all those involved when it comes to such matters as you will find most relevant authorities will only deal directly with the person regarding their affairs, despite their lack of mental capacity. Loved ones cannot act on behalf of the person unless the correct legal processes have been carried out, such as going through the Court of Protection.

Ideally, the person in question will have already appointed powers of attorney in case of such circumstances, but these are not always valid, especially if it is found that they were already mentally incapacitated at the time of appointing someone.

Going through proceedings with the Court of Protection brings with it a number of legal fees and out pf pocket expenses. Whether it is a legal professional that takes the title of Professional Deputy or a family member becoming Deputy, costs will be incurred, and you may also be able to apply for help with court fees.

The team at Greener Costs are highly experienced in dealing with Court of Protection costs, and can assist you to make the complicated process less stressful and more time-efficient.

Court of Protection Costs

Court of protection fees: When a person makes an application to the court to become a deputy, they must pay an application fee and assessment fee and there are also costs that come with utilising the Court of Protection. Depending on how long you are a deputy for, you must also pay an annual supervision fee. In some circumstances you may be able to claim back some of these costs.

When a professional deputy is appointed, general management costs will be incurred, and the Court of Protection will decide how long the general management period is set for.

Court of protection costs: Fixed costs may be used in some circumstances, although in more complex and sizeable cases involving substantial net assets of the Protected Person, is it usual and preferable for costs to be assessed instead.

Recovering Legal Costs

Generally, the court requires the preparation of a three column Bill of Costs to be submitted to the Senior Courts Costs Office (SCCO), alongside the Deputy’s papers when assessing costs. Currently, this is done via post and submission of hard copies of the Deputy’s papers.

On submission of the above documentation, the SCCO will proceed to conduct a Court of Protection detailed assessment by hand and will return a hard copy of the Bill showing manually calculated figures for the Professional Deputy to approve.

When all figures are agreed, a Final Costs Certificate will be sent to the Court for sealing, upon receipt of which the balance of legal costs due to the Professional Deputy can be deducted from the Protected Person’s funds.

Understandably, this can be a very time-consuming and complex process.

How Greener Costs can Assist with Court of Protection Costs

Our experienced Costs Draftsmen and Costs Lawyers are highly capable to assist with Court of Protection costs and can ensure any Bill of Costs that are prepared are in line with best practice guidance and can provide advice on whether certain costs could be recoverable or unrecoverable in your individual circumstances.

With our extensive knowledge and highly skilled team of Costs Draftsmen, we can provide law costing services to clients throughout England and Wales. We are also proud to be represented on Your Legal Advisor’s panel of costs experts. 

In addition to our drafting services at Greener Costs, we are actively doing everything we can to ensure our business benefits the environment. We are doing this though carbon offsetting of our staff, becoming completely paperless and carbon offsetting through each instruction.

If you wish to speak to a member of the team here at Greener Costs then please contact us at 01204 263047, info@greenercosts.co.uk or use the online form on our website below.