If you require guidance on legal costs in the Court of Protection or would like us to defer payment of our costs until funds are released then give our free legal helpline a call.
If you are taking the time to read this article, there’s every possibility that a loved one has lost capacity and you need to do something about it.
Court of Protection law can be complex, and therefore expensive. Solicitors usually require payment up front, which presents a problem for those dealing with their loved one’s affairs.
Deferred solicitor’s costs
When someone close to you loses capacity, you may find yourself in a classic ‘chicken and egg’ scenario – you cannot access their money because they have lost capacity, to access the money you need to make a Court of Protection application, but in order to do this you require money for legal costs. It’s a vicious circle.
We recognise that people will experience ‘cash flow’ problems. We are therefore often prepared to defer our fees until the court allows you to access the funds. This means the costs do not need to be funded by you up front.
Court of Protection applications usually attract a £365 application fee. It is possible to ask the Court to reduce their fees by 50% (known as a ‘remission’) or in some circumstances, remove them entirely (an ‘exemption’).
Exemption from court of protection fees
A person is entitled to a total exemption of the court fee if they are in receipt of certain benefits. Remember, it is the person that has lost capacity who is assessed for an exemption, not the person applying.
Remission of court of protection fees
A person is entitled to a 50% remission of the court fee, depending on their age and disposable capital or income.
Disposable capital is usually made up of the following, although this list is not exhaustive:
| Capital held in any type of savings account: |
| Any type of redundancy capital payment received |
| Stocks or shares |
| Any jointly held capital (where one or more parties have a financial interest in a disposable capital source) |
| Second homes |
| Trust funds (where accessible), or any other fund available to you |
What ‘income’ will be taken into consideration by the court of protection?
Income is the money you receive from any source and can include wages, money received from selling goods (including internet transactions) and rental income.
A person may be entitled to a remission of Court of Protection fees if their monthly income is below a certain level.
If you would like to discuss legal costs in the Court of Protection and deferring solicitor’s fees, please contact us on 0808 139 1606 for a free informal chat about how we can assist you.
The figures mentioned in this article were correct as at November 2020
