When a family member can no longer make decisions about their own money or care — through dementia, a stroke, a brain injury or illness — the practical problems arrive immediately. Banks stop cooperating. Bills go unpaid. Decisions need making and nobody has the authority to make them.
If they still have capacity: plan now
Where the person still has the capacity to make decisions, arrangements can be put in place in advance through a Lasting Power of Attorney, allowing someone they trust to act if they later cannot. This is far simpler, quicker and cheaper than the alternative, and it is worth doing at the first sign that it may be needed rather than waiting.
If capacity has already been lost
Once someone lacks capacity, a Lasting Power of Attorney is no longer possible. The route is usually an application to the Court of Protection to be appointed as a deputy, authorised to manage their affairs. There are two kinds — one covering property and financial affairs, the other covering health and welfare, which is granted far less often.
It takes longer than you think
A Court of Protection application typically takes several months, and longer if it is contested or the medical evidence is slow to arrive. Families almost always wish they had started sooner. If you can see the situation coming, begin early — the process cannot be rushed once someone is in crisis.
Care funding
Continuing healthcare funding decisions are frequently wrong, and families end up paying for care that should be funded by the NHS. The assessments are complex and often rushed. Decisions can be challenged, and in some cases funding already paid can be recovered retrospectively.
Where disputes arise
Families do not always agree about care, money, or what the person would have wanted. Where that happens, matters can become contested — but the person at the centre rarely benefits from a family in conflict. We act for individual family members and work, wherever possible, towards a resolution that does not require a hearing.