Urgent Court Of Protection Applications

The Court of Protection is an adjudicating body that makes decisions on financial and/or health & welfare matters for people who cannot make decisions at the time they need to be made (they ‘lack mental capacity’). A person may lack capacity, for example, due to an illness or an accident. The court helps to oversee and safeguard the interests of people who may be vulnerable and/or lack mental capacity.

At Kew Law LLP we understand that life does not always go to plan and that sometimes decisions need to be made urgently regarding a person who lacks capacity. Urgent applications can relate to property and financial affairs or health and welfare. The Court of Protection will usually only consider urgent applications which are a genuine emergency. A ‘life or death scenario’ would be encompassed or, for example, where, if the court were not to make an Order, it would cause serious harm to the person who lacks capacity.

The Court of Protection can adjudicate on truly urgent applications 24 hours a day throughout the year. An urgent application to the court should not be left to the last minute and should be dealt with by the applicant at the earliest opportunity.

A successful urgent order without notice to all parties involved in the application is an exceptional remedy, and will normally be appropriate only if the case is genuinely urgent. When considering the urgent application from the applicants, the court will consider the impact it has on the life, rights and emotions of the persons against whom and in respect of whom it is granted.

An urgent application to the Court of Protection can be made on a one-off basis or where proceedings are already ongoing and something unexpected has cropped up which needs to be addressed.

Be prepared with the help of Kew Law

If you wish for your loved ones to avoid the complications with the Court of Protection in the future, you may wish to seriously consider preparing Lasting Powers of Attorney. Here at Kew Law LLP, we can assist you in the preparation and registration of the Lasting Powers of Attorney.