Deputyship Surgery: The questions you want to ask but are afraid to…

Natalie completed their training with Irwin Mitchell gaining experience in the Court of Protection, Medical Negligence and Public Law departments and qualified as a solicitor in 2013. Since qualifying, Natalie has worked in the Court of Protection department, specialising in the management of funds for clients who are unable to deal with their own financial affairs. The majority of their clients have brain injuries and have been awarded compensation that needs to be managed in their best interests.

Natalie also provides advice and assistance to people who act, or wish to act, as Property and Affairs Deputy for their loved ones, works closely with the personal injury teams to provide litigation support from a Court of Protection perspective, and is often involved in managing interim payments, for example, to establish care regimes and purchase new properties for clients when a claim is still ongoing.

James is an experienced Court of Protection practitioner within the Court of Protection team. He works closely with the team and other professionals, such as case managers and financial advisers, involved in clients’ financial, legal, care and welfare matters. He is responsible for advising on and drafting all types of applications to the Court of Protection, including applications to appoint deputies, statutory will applications, and applications for family care payments.

James worked for over 25 years in a variety of roles in the Court of Protection and the Office of the Public Guardian. His most recent role was as an authorised court officer in the Court of Protection, a judicial office, where he was responsible for appointing deputies for property and affairs, and making a wide range of orders relating to managing the finances of vulnerable people. He was also a member of the Court of Protection Rules committee, where he helped develop the 2017 court rules, which set out how to make applications, and how the court will manage applications before it.

Because of his background, James has a unique inside knowledge of how the Court of Protection really works and uses this to get the best outcomes for his clients, at what is often a stressful and traumatic time.