When serious decisions must be made about a person’s health, care or liberty, professional legal support is essential. Our Court of Protection team helps families, advocates and professionals understand Legal Aid for Court of Protection cases, providing fast, reliable guidance when it matters most.
We listen to your situation and identify whether your case is one which may qualify for Legal Aid.
Our solicitors assess your circumstances against Legal Aid Agency criteria to ensure you meet the means and merits criteria.
If eligible, we prepare and submit your Court of Protection application, managing all correspondence and forms.
Your dedicated Court of Protection lawyer ensures that you are represented at every court hearing and meeting.
Legal Aid ensures that people facing complex Court of Protection proceedings can access quality representation, regardless of their financial situation. It’s often available for mental health and deprivation of liberty cases under the Mental Capacity Act.
You may be eligible for Legal Aid for Court of Protection proceedings if:
Legal Aid can cover:
Yes. Many health and welfare cases qualify for Legal Aid, especially those involving deprivation of liberty safeguards or serious medical treatment decisions subject to means and merit assessment.
Legal Aid operates under fixed fee or fixed hourly rates approved by the Legal Aid Agency, covering solicitor time, expert reports and hearing costs.
The person at the centre of the case (“P”) is entitled to non means tested legal aid for s21A proceedings relating to deprivation of liberty orders, for all other proceedings there is a means and merit assessment which needs to be passed under Legal Aid rules for health and welfare matters.
You’ll need identification, details of the case and financial information if applicable. For means assessed legal aid, you will need to provide financial information including bank statements and confirmation of benefit entitlement. Our team will let you know exactly what information and documentation you will need to provide as this is case specific.
In most cases, yes. Legal Aid covers solicitor and court hearing fees, expert reports, barrister fees and communication with public bodies.
We can often secure Legal Aid approval within days, allowing us to act immediately where necessary. In urgent cases we may be able to use delegated powers to confirm funding sooner.
Yes. We can help you apply for funding in emergency court order situations where fast action is required.
Yes, where they are necessary and proportionate to the case including medical reports or social care assessments.
Usually not. Legal Aid is a grant, not a loan, for qualifying Court of Protection cases. There may be a contribution to make depending on your financial circumstances, but we will advise you of this at the outset so that you can make an informed decision.
Inform our team immediately as we will need to inform the Legal Aid Agency of any change in financial circumstances.