Tag: Deputy

Who are the interested parties and who should be served in COP cases?

Casey McGregorLeave a comment

An interested party is anyone with a financial interest in the outcome of the assessment. Rule 47.19 of the CPR enables the court to direct under rule 47.19(3) that the receiving party must serve a copy of the request for assessment and copies of the documents which accompany it, on any person who has a financial interest in the outcome of the assessment.

Practice Direction 47, para (18.2) explains what is or is not a ‘financial interest’. It states ‘A person has a financial interest in the outcome of the assessment if the assessment will or may affect the amount of money or property to which that person is or may become entitled out of the fund. Where an interest in the fund is itself held by a trustee for the benefit of some other person, that trustee will be treated as the person having such a financial interest unless it is not appropriate to do so. ‘Trustee’ includes a personal representative, receiver or any other person acting in a fiduciary capacity’.

The SCCO expect the professional Deputy to determine who such an interested party may be and for the Deputy to take a sensible, pragmatic approach. It may not be appropriate to serve every beneficiary of P’s estate, for example. It is recommended that any interested parties are highlighted for the SCCO’s attention when e-filing your bill of costs.

Sometimes the SCCO will indicate on the assessment that the bill of costs needs to be served on the interested parties, but even where they don’t state that, it is up to the Deputy or Claimant to decide if the bill should be served. There have been instances where a Final Costs Certificate has been obtained and an interested party has come forward asking why they were not served at the time, wishing to challenge the outcome of the assessment. If the SCCO decided that party should have been served, the Claimant may be liable for the costs of that additional process as a result of not following procedure.

The link to the procedure rules can be found at: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part-47-procedure-for-detailed-assessment/practice-direction-46-costs-special-cases2#18.1

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Casey Mcgregor at casey.mcgregor@clarionsolicitors.com

Can a non-solicitor Deputy charge solicitor fees?

Ella WilkinsonLeave a comment

In the recent case of Riddle v Public Guardian [2021] EWCOP 38, an application was made for Permission to Appeal from two judgments of HHJ Hilder, dated 11 August 2020 and 4 September 2020, which are reported as The Public Guardian v Andrew Riddle (No1 and No2) [2020] EWCOP 41.

By way of background, Mr Riddle is Managing Director of Professional Deputies, offering services in acting as appointee, Deputy, or Attorney, and assisting applicants in making applications to the Court. However, he is not a qualified solicitor. The prior hearings concerned, amongst other factors, whether the professional Deputy should be authorised to charge fees at a solicitors’ rate, or whether their charges could fall somewhere in between the public authority and solicitor rates. In addition, whether a professional Deputy could be remunerated at a higher rate than public authority Deputies was also considered, and the conclusion of the Court was that they could not.

The application for permission to appeal was originally rejected on the papers, however a renewed oral application was allowed. There were three grounds of appeal (with Ground 1 being split into two parts):

  • That the Judge erred in her general conclusions that Mr Riddle should not be afforded a specific rate
  • That the estates of Protected Parties would commonly be dealt with by Solicitors, and that inadequate weight was placed on the benefit to P of having a professional Deputy
  • That the Judge erred in her refusal to grant Mr Riddle’s application for relief from liability for past charging
  • That the Judge erred in refusing the application made for the Public Guardian to pay Mr Riddle’s costs associated with responding to the revocation application (save for the costs associated with Mr Riddle paying his legal fees from the estates of Protected Parties and restoring the estates in this regard)

On consideration of the grounds and the submissions made by both parties, it was decided that the arguments presented had no reasonable prospect of success and were bound to fail. As a result of the above, permission to appeal on the presented grounds was refused, affirmed as per an Order dated 19 March 2021.

You can find out more about our services here or you can contact the Costs and Litigation Funding team at costs.support@clarionsolicitors.com

Client care and the indemnity principle in Court of Protection

Stephanie KayeLeave a comment

Stephanie Kaye, senior associate and Laura Gillin, associate at Clarion discuss the issues arising in respect of the indemnity principle following the decision of PLK & Others, client care requirements and what deputies need to do to recover the higher hourly rates.

You can find out more about our services here or you can contact the Costs and Litigation Funding team at COPCosts@clarionsolicitors.com.

The Deputyship Standards

Laura SugarmanLeave a comment

The Deputyship standards have been developed with both professional and public bodies and form an important view of the new approach to support and supervise professional and public authority Deputies. The Deputyship standards clearly set out what is expected of a professional Deputy and provide an important checklist of actions every Deputy should follow. The Deputyship Standards are set by the Office of the Public Guardian.


The standards fall into the following categories; secure P’s finances and assets, gain insight into P in order to make best interests decisions on his behalf, maintain effective processes and organization, have the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out the work expected of a professional Deputy and finally, health and welfare standards.


In terms of securing P’s finances and assets, clear guidance is set out outlining the Deputy’s duty from receipt of the Deputyship Order with respect P’s assets and liabilities. The Deputy is required to carry out a benefits review and ensure that benefits and savings reviews are carried out on behalf of P annually. Guidance is also provided regarding P’s property whereby they no longer reside in the same. A Deputy is required to carry out a property inspection once a year to ensure the property is safe and secure and should also complete an inventory of contents confirming the total value of the same. If P does still reside in his property, the Deputy is required to review the suitability of the property and consider the rent/mortgage payments to ensure all was in order.

The Deputy is required to gain an insight into P in order to make best interest decisions on their behalf. In order to do this, the Deputy should ensure the necessary capacity assessments have been undertaken and are completely up to date. The Deputy should also discuss P’s wishes and feelings and record details of these appropriately. The Deputy must also maintain regular contact with P and his family and visit P once a year.
By maintaining effective processes and organization, the Deputy must establish clear and effective governance between the named Deputy and staff delegated to carry out the relevant tasks on behalf of P. Necessary supervision should also be given to more junior members of staff and the necessary criteria must be considered whereby a best interests decision is required.


The Deputy must have the necessary skillset and knowledge to carry out the work expected of a professional Deputy. This includes ensuring that the Deputy and all delegated members of staff understand the MCA the Code of Practice and the five statutory principles of the MCA and how they are applied within working practices. The Deputy is required to have sufficient knowledge surrounding inheritance tax provisions and have access to appropriate advice and expertise on the same. Also, the Deputy should have access to appropriate advice and expertise regarding tax returns. Furthermore, should any family conflict arise, the Deputy should have awareness of or experience in managing mediation. Without this, a Deputy would not be able to act in the best interests of P and carry out the necessary work at the level expected of a professional Deputy.


Health and welfare standards only apply to those Deputies who hold a health and welfare Order or both a property and financial affairs and health and welfare Order. Standards include, if DOLS is in place, the Deputy must ensure that this is current and up to date. A Deputy must also ensure that a health assessment or review is carried out every year. It is also necessary for the Deputy to keep all professionals involved within P’s care fully updated with respect all matters.


It is imperative that the Deputy follow these guidelines and adhere to the Deputyship standards. These ensure that the Deputy is acting in the best interests of P. In order to ensure that the Deputy is following these standards, regular assurance visits will be carried out. If a Deputy is found to be not following the standards, an action plan will be agreed and put in place in order to address and rectify any of the areas where improvement is required.


Laura Gillin is an associate in the costs and litigation funding team at Clarion. You can contact her at laura.gillin@clarionsolicitors.com or on 0113 227 3631.

Giving gifts as Deputy

Tanya ForanLeave a comment

The Office of the Public Guardian has issued new information regarding gift making as a Deputy. It can be found here :  https://publicguardian.blog.gov.uk/2020/12/16/giving-gifts-as-an-attorney-or-deputy/

As Deputy it can be tricky deciding whether to give a gift to a friend or relative of a Protected Party. It is not compulsory to give a gift unless a Court Order states otherwise. When giving a gift, the key decision is whether it is in the best interests of the Protected Party.

What is a gift?

A gift can include various options such as giving donations to charities, living rent free, giving an interest free loan or simply the purchase of a bunch of flowers.

Who can give gifts?

Under the Mental Capacity Act, the Protected Party should always be consulted before decisions are made and included as much as possible.

If you consider that the person has capacity to make a gifting decision, you should keep a record of the steps you took to make sure they did. The Office of the Public Guardian may ask you at any stage to explain your decision, or others could challenge you later.

Even if the person apparently has capacity to make a gift, you must still use care and caution when they express a desire to make one. If a substantial gift is involved, you may need to seek advice, obtain an Order from the Court or arrange for a mental capacity assessment.

When can Deputies give gifts?

Gifts can be made on special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, and civil partnerships. This also includes the giving of gifts on religious occasions.

What is considered a ‘reasonable gift’?

A reasonable gift will largely depend on the Protected Party’s finances. Any gifts given should not impact on their ability to pay for care for the rest of their life and should be affordable. 

What happens if a gift is given without authority?

If a substantial gift is given without authority, the Office of the Public Guardian may investigate and ask that the money is paid back or that the gifts are returned, approval could be required from the Court of Protection or the worst case scenario would include the removal of the Deputy position.

For more information please contact Tanya Foran by email at Tanya.Foran@clarionsolicitors.com.

KKL Executor & Trustee Company Ltd v Harrison (2020) – Is it cynical for a professional Deputy to expect to be paid?

Stephanie KayeLeave a comment

The short answer is no. The above case concerned an elderly woman (OT, the Protected Party) in Leeds who lacks capacity to deal with her property and financial affairs. KKL is a trust corporation working closely with (both in terms of being the subsidiary of and working from the same office with) a charity called JNF Charitable Trust (“JNF UK”). Ms Harrison made an application to be appointed as property and affairs Deputy for the Protected Party and KKL lodged a competing application, on the basis that they were well known to the Protected Party and they felt that they were best placed to act as Deputy.

For the purposes of the proceedings, Ms Harrison acted as Respondent to KKL’s application to be appointed as Deputy. Ms Harrison’s objection to KKL’s application was based on three key issues. The first was KKL’s lack of independence from JNF UK and the potential for a conflict of interest to arise between the Protected Party’s interests and the interests of JNF UK as the main and residuary beneficiary of the Protected Party’s latest will.  The second was KKL’s lack of experience as a property and affairs Deputy and the third was KKL’s geographical distance from the Protected Party, and their apparent conflict with others with whom the Deputy would need to work in the Protected Party’s best interests pursuant to section 4(7) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Within KKL’s arguments against Ms Harrison being appointed as Deputy, they raised the issue of costs. They said that the standard wording within the application for costs to be assessed on the standard basis was “a cosy arrangement regarding costs that is buried in the small print of her application”.  Judge Geddes responded to say that this was “(literally) factually wrong” and that the application “reflects standard wording within the templates produced by the Court of Protection”.

KKL also raised questions as to the fact that social services consulted a lawyer from the Lawdesk Panel of Private Client Lawyers about their concerns over the Protected Party’s mental capacity and her ability to manage her own finances. Judge Geddes responded to say the there is a risk to Clarion Solicitors of acting in such cases in that “if their application were rejected they might be left to bear their own costs of bringing the application which they do so purportedly in the Protected Party’s interests.” Judge Geddes quashed any notion that is was inappropriate and continued to say, “Of course, in this limited sense they have an interest in either the success of the application or at least in not being criticised for bringing the application to the point of disapplication of the general rule about costs contained in rule 19.2 of the Court of Protection Rules 2017 namely that “Where the proceedings concern P’s property and affairs the general rule is that the costs of the proceedings… shall be paid by P or charged to P’s estate”.

Further in respect of costs, Judge Geddes responded to KKL’s arguments, stating “It will be a matter for submissions on costs whether or not the conduct of either party has been unreasonable or should be marked with the court’s disapproval by disapplying the usual rule.  So long as the proposed deputy is acting in good faith, however, I would not consider their expectation of having their costs paid in accordance with the usual rule out of P’s estate could be considered “cynical”. It remains that the starting point for professionals is to expect to have their costs assessed and paid from the estate.”

Judge Geddes acknowledged that it would be cheaper to appoint KKL rather than Ms Harrison, but overall, found it to be in the Protected Party’s best interests for Lynsey Harrison to be appointed as Deputy. It was ordered that costs incurred by Clarion Solicitors could be assessed and paid from the estate.

It is clear from this case that professional Deputies are not expected to be limited to fixed costs and the starting point is that they should be paid, subject to detailed assessment, for their hard work in managing property and affairs.

If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Kaye at Stephanie.kaye@clarionsolicitors.com or call 0113 3363402.

Lockdown Lowdown – Francesca Gardner

Stephanie KayeLeave a comment

This blog forms part of a series of weekly interviews with several professionals during lockdown. It aims to inform Deputies and their teams about how each organisation within the field of Court of Protection has adapted to Covid-19 and what they should be aware of. Our third participant for Lockdown Lowdown is Francesca Gardner from Kings Chambers, who has chosen a hectic time to return from maternity leave!

How has the Court of Protection adapted to lockdown?

The COP has adapted extremely well, and at speed to the pandemic. The Vice President has been instrumental in ensuring that the court continues to function. Hayden J has released a number of helpful guidance documents. The reality is that there will be some cases that will be delayed but there is a clear and concerted effort from the court’s to ensure that urgent cases are being properly determined. For example, within days of the lockdown measures being announced by the government, the COP heard a Serious Medical Treatment case (over a number of days) via Zoom.

I know of and am involved in many cases that are being and are scheduled to be heard over the coming weeks.

What impact do you think this will have on professional Deputies?

I am optimistic that there will not be a significant impact upon deputies, save for the challenges in maintaining contact with P and any delays that may be faced as regards court proceedings. HMCTS has issued its ‘family business priorities’ for April 2020 setting out what work must be done, what work will be done and what work HMCTS will do its best to do. Property and Affairs work falls under the work that court ‘will do it’s best to do’, whilst this may be frustrating to deputies I am aware of several P&A cases being heard both in the regions and in London so whilst there may be delays I would hope that deputies will still have proper access to the court’s should they need it on behalf of P.

Have you learnt anything so far from the pandemic?

The importance of slowing down, as lawyers we work at 100mph and I hope that lockdown has forced us to re-evaluate a little and find a better balance going forward. I am thinking ‘pigs might fly’ as I write this.

Have there been any reoccurring issues that Deputies should be aware of?

The main issue in my view and that, which I am aware of, is contact with P and ensuring that communication between P and the deputy continues. It is important that deputies think creatively during the pandemic to ensure that they (and others) can maintain contact with P. For example and where possible the purchase of an iPad or a request to the staff at the care home and/or support staff to support P to use Skype may be of real benefit. In BP v Surrey County Council 2020 EWCOP 17, the Vice President of the Court of Protection, Hayden J, reiterated the importance of P maintaining contact with others and how this should be approached based on the specific needs of the person. For example, telephone contact would not be appropriate where the person is deaf, but Skype maybe and they should be supported to use that facility.

Do you think there will be any reoccurring issues that Protected Party’s face as a result of this?

I would like to think not but I think delay will be inevitable in some cases, particularly cases that are none urgent in nature.

What do you think Deputies should be thinking about?

Whilst it may be a very difficult time, deputies must remember that their roles and responsibilities remain the same throughout the pandemic, that includes in circumstances where the deputy may be self-isolating in line with the government guidelines. The Office of Public Guardian has provided some guidance for deputies during the pandemic, within the guidance it states:  ‘If you are self- isolating or shielding, you must continue to make decisions for P. You cannot ask anyone else to make those decisions for you.’ However, attorneys and deputies can make a decision and ask someone else to carry it out. The guidance reminds deputies that they do not have to step down in their role simply because they are unable to visit the person.

How have you been keeping busy during lockdown?

My little boy keeps me very busy, but returning to work has also kept me busy. I try to exercise alone as regularly as I can. Running has always been my ‘go to’ for exercise and its great for clearing your head, particularly with all that is going on at the moment.

What are you most looking forward to after lockdown?

Spending time with family and my little boy, it has been hard that no one has been able to see him so I am very much looking forward to that!

Clarion would like to thank Francesca for taking part in Lockdown Lowdown and for her helpful insight. Coming up in the series, we will be hearing from Ria Baxendale from the OPG. If you would like to suggest another interviewee for Lockdown Lowdown, please contact Stephanie Kaye at stephanie.kaye@clarionsolicitors.com or call 0113 336 3402.

Lockdown Lowdown- Master Haworth

Stephanie KayeLeave a comment

This blog forms part of a series of weekly interviews with several professionals during lockdown. It aims to inform Deputies and their teams about how each organisation within the field of Court of Protection has adapted to Covid-19. Our second participant for Lockdown Lowdown is Master Peter Haworth from the Senior Courts Costs Office.

  • How has the SCCO adapted to lockdown?

I originally thought we wouldn’t cope very well at all, and thought we would lock up shop at the SCCO, but that hasn’t happened. It’s not just skeleton staff, but staff working from home and a team in the office on a very detailed rota. We have a dedicated COP team of at least 5 people in today and 6 people in tomorrow, so we are finding ways to continue whilst respecting social distancing. We have managed to obtain laptops which have been given to Costs Officers so, in addition to the team in the office, Costs Officers are dealing with work at home. We have 8 Costs Officers and all 8 of them are working, be it remotely or from the office and the people in the high risk category are having work delivered to them as opposed to collecting it themselves. The team really have worked hard to adapt and I’m tremendously proud of them. The judiciary are also getting on surprisingly well in lockdown. We’ve had a number of Zoom and Microsoft Teams calls which have been very successful, and it seems that the judiciary has moved on 50 years in 2 weeks. I don’t think we will ever go back to ‘normal’ and I suspect that, going forward, we will continue to work in this way wherever it is appropriate to do so. The Senior Costs Judge doesn’t want things to grind to a halt so, wherever possible, we are dealing with things via Skype, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. I’ve had 2 full-day hearings for two substantial costs matters and it works well. I’m fixing more Microsoft Teams meeting where I hope to take live evidence, which is something that I would not have thought possible. With COP work, one of the benefits of the e-filing system that was introduced in January is that I can access this sitting at home, pick up cases and deal with them without too much difficulty. Where I need papers, the majority are being sent to me via the local County Court using DX and I pick them up from there. Also, in COP, I have had a couple of Costs Officers who have said that provisional assessments have not been accepted, and the solicitors have requested an oral hearing, so I’ve been able to simply access the file using the e-file system and list them without delay. The Costs Masters meet virtually on a Friday morning to discuss work loads too, which is useful. We’ve had one Master off ill, but others have picked up the work in his absence. I thought it might be a prolonged holiday for us all but that’s not happened!

  • What impact do you think this will have on turnaround?

You won’t believe this but, whilst I’ve parroted on, I’ve had an email with an update so I have the exact figures, hot off the press for you! As of the 27th of April 2020, straight from the horse’s mouth, we have 656 cases in the office up to 7 weeks old, awaiting assessment. We have a further 257 waiting for supporting papers from the solicitors which have been e-filed and accepted and a further 464 in the e-filing queue waiting to be processed by the e-filing team. Essentially, we have a backlog of 1,200 cases. I’m not holding anything back from you, so hopefully you can appreciate the full picture. We have one Costs Officer who has been ill and there are 10 cases awaiting collection from them. In addition, we have 195 Final Costs Certificates waiting to be authorised, which are being prioritised at the moment above the assessments. We are in a position to deal with things at home, but the bottleneck is the admin team processing the e-filing. We are working with a 50% admin team in the office due to social distancing measures, so that is where the difficulty lies in the administration of all of those cases. I would hope that, once the rules are relaxed, we will have a full team in the office again. We have seen turnaround a lot worse than this, but I appreciate even more so as a former solicitor that cash flow is king, and I’m the first to understand that. If there is anything we can do to push this through, we will. E-filing proved to be a lot more complicated than anticipated and it has slowed things down, for which I sincerely apologise on behalf of the office.

  • Has the SCCO learnt anything so far from the pandemic?

We can work virtually and electronically, rather than with high chairs and quill pens! We will have to put it all together when we get back to normality and find a new way of working. I think that the lockdown experience will provide more benefits in the years to come and, to my mind, we will move forward a lot quicker now. The majority of firms don’t work with paper files anymore so, as night follows day, it must mean electronic files move up the queue for COP, but I don’t know what the timescales are for that. We have trialled this and the Costs Officers were happy to access the solicitors’ system to carry out the assessment but, for this to be successful, there will have to be protocols and security measures. Provided we can meet those, it will move forward. There is also the electronic bill which you know about (Stephanie Kaye and Andrew McAulay are part of the committee preparing a COP electronic bill). COP will not need the same level of complexity as the current electronic bill for inter partes work, so I would hope to see an electronic bill in motion by the end of this year, or early next year and the the rest will follow. So many questions will be up for grabs and only time will tell, but I’m sure the real impact will be known when we get back. It will push us out of the Victorian times and move us into the 21st century.

  • Have there been any regular issues with e-filing that Deputies should be aware of?

The hiccups have been loading it all up in the first place. With no electronic bill, it’s having to be scanned into the system and a paper copy prepared for assessment, then scanned back out to the solicitor. All the extra admin had meant that the bottleneck was even worse. Although the bill will have to be scanned to obtain a copy, the Costs Officers are sending a paper copy back to the solicitor after assessment and, from that point in time, the solicitor can electronically obtain the Final Costs Certificate. I hope this will solve some of the issues but this will be an ongoing problem, until the introduction of the electronic bill. From my own experience, the electronic bill is so much easier and it will speed up the process considerably in COP cases.

  • Is the SCCO still available by telephone?

Yes, they are answering the phone. You might have to wait a little bit longer due to fewer people in the office, but there are Cost Officers and Clerks available. If they can’t answer the query, they will email the Master who might email the representatives directly, which is speeding things up. Providing they are accredited legal representatives and not parties, I am more than happy to work in this way, as are my colleagues.

  • We’ve already touched on this, but do you think there will be a move to electronic files of papers for assessment in the future?

Yes. This is not in the public domain, but all I can say is that there is some movement towards a sort of ‘bundle bank’, which would mean that the SCCO is able to access an electronic bundle to carry out an assessment, rather than interrogating the solicitor’s system, which has been trialled already. That’s something that is being considered, and I’m sure lockdown will accelerate moves to electronic working.

  • The MOJ invited the panel of professionals last year to comment on several areas, including consistency of reductions on assessments. Is it likely that the SCCO will update its guidance for Costs Officers and professional Deputies to help with more consistent assessments?

We will wait and see what the responses are from the MOJ on that point. We can then take a fresh look at the guide knowing the full picture. Obviously, any move to the electronic bill or electronic files of papers will mean that the guide is updated too. It will be a work in progress.

  • What is the plan for your retirement?

I’ve done COP work in practice for many years. In 2006, I joined the SCCO and I couldn’t have been handed this work any quicker. I’ve worked almost exclusively from 2006 until last year or the year before on COP. Master James and Master Whalan will deal with COP after I retire. I think the senior judges would like all costs judges to deal with every aspect but in my mind, COP is specialist and you have to know what you’re doing, so I think it’s best kept with 2 or 3 judges. As for my retirement, I had planned to go on the 30th of September but in light of the current situation, I may find myself here until Christmas. The plan is to do more of what I enjoy, including sailing and hot air ballooning. A lot of my ballooning is abroad so I suspect even after lockdown, there will be difficulties with this. I might have to stay in the UK, although it’s tremendously difficult to fly a balloon in British weather! In 2021, I plan to take part in a balloon event across the English channel. I’ve done it once and I’d like to do it again – it’s much quicker than the ferry!

  • How have you been keeping busy during lockdown?

I felt that staying in a flat in London wouldn’t be ideal so I’ve come back up north. I’ve spent more time with Mrs Haworth than I have in the last 15 years! The north is a pretty part of the world so, when I haven’t been working, I’ve been out walking or doing things in the garden, albeit my work in the garden mainly involves supervising Mrs Haworth!

  • What are you most looking forward to after lockdown?

Meeting friends and going to the pub!!

Clarion would like to thank Master Haworth for taking part in Lockdown Lowdown. He and the SCCO continue to work extremely hard to service Court of Protection Costs work during this time. Coming up in the series, we will be hearing from Francesca Gardner from Kings Chambers and Ria Baxendale from the OPG. If you would like to suggest another interviewee for Lockdown Lowdown, please contact Stephanie Kaye at stephanie.kaye@clarionsolicitors.com or call 0113 336 3402.

 

 

Best Practice for file keeping in the Court of Protection

Stephanie KayeLeave a comment

File keeping can have a big impact on the assessment of a Deputy’s file by the Senior Courts Costs Office (SCCO). Stephanie Kaye looks at 5 key points about file keeping in the Court of Protection and how to maximise costs recovery.

Stephanie Kaye is a Senior Associate in the Clarion Costs Department, and heads the Court of Protection Costs team. You can contact her on 0113 336 3402 or by email at stephanie.kaye@clarionsolicitors.com. 

Electronic Filing – Court of Protection Cases

Stephanie KayeLeave a comment

As of today, the pilot begins for voluntary electronic filing at the Senior Courts Costs Office. To request an assessment, the bill of costs, the N258B and the authority to assess are to be forwarded through e-filing. The papers are to be sent as normal in the post/DX for the current time. This process becomes mandatory on 20 January 2020.

This is a big change in costs and particularly regarding COP costs, whereby it was expected that electronic filing would not apply. We have had confirmation from the SCCO that this does apply to COP cases and we recommend that all practitioners begin doing this going forward before the process becomes mandatory.

 The portal link can be found here: https://efile.cefile-app.com/login

 Information about existing FAQ’s following the E-Filing in other Courts can be found here: https://leedslawsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/E-Filing-Frequently-Asked-Questions.pdf

The link to the government website regarding CE-Filing which includes step by step guides can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ce-file-system-information-and-support-advice

 If you have any queries, please contact Stephanie Kaye on 0113 336 3402 or stephanie.kaye@clarionsolicitors.com