An Appointee is a person who has been appointed by the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) or a local authority to receive welfare benefits on behalf of someone who is unable to manage their affairs, generally because of mental incapacity.

A Corporate Appointee is an organisation such as The Friendly Trust or a local authority for example, that is authorised by the Department of Work and Pensions to act as the body for managing a persons welfare benefit responsibilities.

Corporate Appointeeship’s are usually appropriate when no identifiable (or suitable) relatives or close friends can be approached.

To become an appointee Form BF56 must be completed and submitted to the relevant DWP department. In some cases a DWP visiting officer may meet with the person to whom the application relates and the person wishing to apply to make sure an Appointee is necessary.

An appointee will meet with the client and any others involved to discuss their individual circumstances. At this point they will try to create a plan to make sure that all the person’s benefits are being claimed and all their living expenses are covered.  This arrangement will then be managed by the appointee who will be responsible for making and overseeing a benefit claims, receiving benefit payments, receiving and paying a persons bills, and managing funds on behalf of the client.  The appointee is also responsible for repaying any overpayment in benefits.  The appointee is responsible for maintaining adequate financial records on behalf of a person.

An Appointee must:

• sign the benefit claim forms
• tell the benefit office about any changes which affect how much the claimant gets
• spend the benefit (which is paid directly to you) in the claimant’s best interests
• tell the benefit office if they stop being the appointee eg, the claimant can now manage their own affairs

If a person is incapable of managing their own finances due to a physical or mental health incapacity and cannot cope with claiming benefits, paying bills or managing money they may need an appointee to provide help. An appointee may be required on a temporary or permanent basis.

The appointee can be nominated for a temporary period, for example following an accident or a short-term illness. In fact many appointeeships are temporary in so much as the service user may simply need assistance for an interim period.

An appointee may resign if they are no longer able to carry out the role by giving one month’s written notice.  The DWP also has the power to revoke the appointeeship.  If there is evidence of an appointee not acting in the best interests of the claimant the DWP must be informed and they will investigate such claims.

Yes. The Friendly Trust has vast experience in transferring Appointeeship’s. Please get in touch to discuss your individual circumstances, if you would like more detailed information.

The Friendly Trust receives funding from various sources. Depending on an individual’s circumstances, they may be eligible to receive a free service. In other cases a third party or organisation may fund the service, but in some cases the individual would pay.

A deputy is someone appointed by the Court of Protection to make decisions for someone who is unable to do so on their own.

When a person is assessed under the Mental Capacity Act as being incapable of managing their financial affairs and is therefore unable to instruct another person to act on their behalf, an application can be made to the Court of Protection to appoint a deputy.

A deputy is usually a close friend or relative of the person who needs help making decisions.

A deputy can also be a professional, such as an accountant, a solicitor or an organisation like the Friendly Trust. Local authorities are often appointed as a deputy.

Deputies must be over 18.

The Court of Protection can appoint a ‘panel deputy’ to look after someone’s financial affairs if no one else can do this.

A panel deputy is someone with specialist knowledge of mental capacity law.

The Court of Protection has to appoint a Deputy following a comprehensive application process, if they decide it is appropriate and in the persons best interests.

Yes – There is an Application fee of £400 which is payable on making an application to start court proceedings or on making an application for permission to start proceedings.

There are various other fees that may be incurred depending on the application process.

In certain circumstances fees may not be payable, but in each case a fee remission form must be completed.

A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that lets an individual (the ‘donor’) appoint people (known as ‘attorneys’) to make decisions on their behalf. It could be used if the individual became unable to make his or her own decisions.

There are 2 types of lasting power of attorney:

• Health and welfare
• Property and financial affairs

You can choose to make one type or both, but the following questions only apply to Property and affairs LPA’s as that is The Friendly Trust’s area of expertise.

You must be 18 or over and have mental capacity – the ability to make your own decisions – when you make your lasting power of attorney.

They make decisions about money and property for you, eg:

• paying bills
• collecting benefits
• selling your home

This type of lasting power of attorney can be used as soon as it’s registered, with your permission.

First you need to decide who you want to appoint.

This is the most important part of the process as you need to choose someone you trust to carry out your wishes when you are unable to do so any longer. You can appoint more than one person.

Once you have decided, it’s time to complete the relevant forms. All the information and forms you need can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney/overview

Some people find the process a bit daunting. If you need any help or support around completing your LPA or supporting someone else to do so, then get in touch.

Please check the referral tab for all the available ways you can make a referral, but if there is anything you are unsure about, please get in touch.