A deputyship can be brought to an end automatically or through choice. There are several ways in which a deputyship can end and these are:If a person dies then the deputyship comes to an immediate end and the Death Certificate must be sent to the Office of the Public Guardian. At that point, the Executors of the Will or the Administrators if a person died intestate (without a Will), will take over the administration of the person’s assets. The Court of Protection can make an Order terminating the deputyship if the deputy retires or resigns. An application will need to be sent to the Court of Protection with details of the proposed new deputy and confirmation as to the retirement or resignation of the current deputy.A person may recover mental capacity so that they are able to make to their own financial decisions, in which case evidence of recovery such as a doctor’s letter will need to be sent to the Court of Protection together with a COP9.Please note that apart from in the case of when a person dies, you cannot stop being a deputy until you have received the relevant Court Order discharging you as a deputy. However, the security bond will remain in force for seven years after the death of the person you are deputy for unless there is a Court Order cancelling it. A security bond is an insurance provision which would have been put in place to protect the finances of the person concerned.We would be happy to assist you in an application to the Court of Protection should you wish to retire and arrange for another person to take over as deputy. We can prepare applications for lay deputies (a family member or friend) or for a professional deputy such as ourselves.We are also able to prepare the applications to the Court should a person recover capacity and either then manage their finances themselves or wish to place money into a personal injury trust. This may be useful for added protection if a person regains capacity but remains vulnerable and needs additional support and protection.Ruth Meyer leads our Court of Protection team and has over 20 years specialist experience. Ruth acts as a professional deputy in respect to finances for children and adults who have received an award for compensation for medical negligence or who have an acquired brain injury. However, she is also able to act for people with dementia as well as any other age related illness that affect mental capacity. Please feel free to call any of the team members for a free initial discussion.If you would like to discuss your current deputyship arrangement or to talk about how to end one up please email our specialist team on cop@boyesturner.com.
