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Our Services: Court of Protection Issues - Carers

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides the legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of individuals who lack the mental capacity to make particular decisions themselves.

Everyone working with and/or caring for an adult who may lack capacity to make specific decisions must comply with this Act, which means they must make decisions in their best interests. The same rules apply whether the decisions are life-changing events or every day matters.

At certain times, a decision-maker may be faced with people who disagree about a person’s best interests. Family members, partners and carers may disagree between themselves, or they might have different memories about what views the person expressed in the past. They might also agree with decisions made on the person’s behalf by the local authority or PCT, such as where the person should live and the amount of contact he or she should have with certain relatives.

At Maxwell Gillott, we are regularly instructed by families and carers who want to challenge decisions made. We can advise on the steps that can be taken to obtain a second opinion, involve an advocate, hold a formal or informal 'best interests' case conference, attempts some form of mediation or pursue a complaint through the organisation’s formal procedures.

Ultimately, if all other attempts to resolve the dispute have failed, we can provide legal advice and representation in the Court of Protection, where the court might need to decide what is in the person’s best interests.

If you receive certain welfare benefits such as Income Support or Guaranteed Pension Credit, you will automatically qualify for public funding, (legal aid). If you receive other benefits or have a low income and savings, you may also qualify. A person who is being deprived of their liberty will automatically qualify for legal aid.

To find out more about our community care services, please contact us.