Court of Protection agrees to appoint successive deputies for young person

The Court of Protection has appointed successive deputies for a young woman (H) suffering from autism. The decision is unusual and specific to its facts, but the judgment of Senior Judge Lush sets out very fully the law and circumstances taken into account when applying the balance sheet approach. The factor of magnetic importance in this case was that it would give peace of mind to H's parents, who were her current deputies, to know that the individuals that they had chosen would act for H when they were no longer able to do so. The discussion will be very helpful to any practitioner advising on a possible appointment of successive deputies. It is interesting that Senior Judge Lush initially refused permission for H's parents to apply for a successive appointment and made the order on an application to reconsider that decision.

For information about deputies appointed by the Court of Protection, see Practice note, Deputyship toolkit.

Case: Re H [2015] EWCOP 52 (Bailii).