This year’s Dementia Action Week takes place between 19 and 25 May. The awareness raising campaign, organised by the Alzheimer’s Society, hopes to encourage individuals and organisations across the UK to act on dementia.
The 2025 campaign focuses on the importance of an early diagnosis for people affected by dementia.
Diagnosis is vital to give people access to the care, treatment and support they desperately need. Yet, incredibly, one in three people with dementia do not have a diagnosis, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.
As dementia is a progressive disease with symptoms that get worse, diagnosing the condition at an early stage can be extremely helpful.
Early diagnosis helps you to access the right support, relevant information, and any benefits you may be entitled to.
LPA Solicitors Wisbech
An early dementia diagnosis also enables you to ensure you have the right legal protections in place, such as a Will and Lasting Power of Attorney before your condition deteriorates.
Making an LPA is particularly important for those living with dementia. A Lasting Power of Attorney ensures someone you trust can make decisions about your property and finances and/or health and welfare if the condition means you lose the ability to do so yourself.
Without an LPA, the people you may want to make decisions about finances, care, or medical treatment will not automatically have control of your affairs
If you lose capacity and don’t have an LPA in place, your loved ones may need to make an application to the Court of Protection to act as your ‘deputy’.
In this blog, our specialist Court of Protection solicitors consider deputyships for people living with dementia.
What is a deputyship?
As dementia progresses, a person often loses their ability (mental capacity) to make decisions for themself, such as paying bills or collecting benefits, or knowing where they live or what medical treatment they should have.
If the person with dementia has already lost the mental capacity to make an LPA, it will be too late for them to set one up.
In this case, their loved ones may need to apply to the Court of Protection to act as their deputy.
A deputyship allows someone to legally make decisions on another person’s behalf about their property and financial affairs and/or health and welfare.
Can someone with dementia have more than one deputy?
Yes, the Court of Protection can appoint multiple deputies to act on someone’s behalf. If there are two or more deputies, they will act either:
- Jointly (this means all deputies must agree on decisions).
- Jointly and severally (this allows deputies to make decisions either individually or together).
What does a deputy have to do?
A deputy makes decisions on another person’s behalf on various matters within the limits set by the relevant court order.
All deputies must:
- Act in the other person’s best interests.
- Consider what they’ve done in the past.
- Apply a high standard of care.
- Consider the person’s mental capacity every time a decision needs to be made.
- Do everything they can to help the other person understand the decision.
- Respect the other person’s confidentiality.
- Not take advantage of the person with dementia.
- Compile decisions in an annual report.
Deputies for property and financial affairs cannot hold any money or property in their own name on the other person’s behalf and must keep records of financial transactions.
How do you become someone’s deputy?
To become a deputy, which will enable you to act on your loved one’s behalf, you need to complete various forms and submit the relevant paperwork to the Court of Protection.
Read more about deputyship applications at the Court of Protection in our previous blog by clicking here.
Deputyship Solicitors Cambridgeshire
At Bowsers Solicitors, we can assist with all aspects of Court of Protection and deputyship matters, including helping to arrange mental capacity assessments and Court of Protection applications or disputes.
If you are looking for Court of Protection or deputyships advice, please contact our experienced private client solicitors and chartered legal executives today on 01945 583194 (Wisbech) or 01354 652606 (March), or email reception@bowsers.co.uk.
Alternatively, you can fill in our contact form.
