Deputyship

FranFK

hello,
just starting to look into deputyship for child coming up for 15yrs age, like to plan ahead as everything takes so long and she will not have mental capacity. Do we involve child social services or just get on with it, looks like £365 initial payment then yearly fee and parent does annual report justifying actions and spending ? Anyone been through this? Thanks 

poppy123456

Hi and welcome,

It's very unusual to apply for this for a child of this age because they are still so young.

You can't say a person doesn't have mental capability until they've been assessed and this can't be done until the child reaches 16 years of age.

You can't become a deputy for someone unless they've been assessed as lacking mental capacity.

See both links.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/making-decisions-for-someone-else/mental-capacity-act/

https://www.gov.uk/become-deputy

My daughter has a learning disability and ASD, she's 18 and there's so many things in life that she can't make decisions on but she hasn't been assessed as lacking mental capacity and i would not state she does until the assessment has been carried out.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @FranFK and a warm welcome to the community. 
How are you getting on? I hope you've found Poppy's response to be helpful. 

April2018mom

Mental capacity is not easy to determine. There is a 2 stage test used to help professionals assess whether or not a disabled person is lacking capacity. https://www.rethink.org/advice-and-information/rights-restrictions/mental-health-laws/mental-capacity-act/

It is very rare for children to be assessed. Try not to worry about it.  

Chloe_Alumni

Welcome to the community @FranFK! Is there anything else we can do to help?