Court of Protection judges are very experienced in dealing with fraught situations and family dispute. The stakes are high when family members disagree about the care or finances of a relative who lacks capacity to make their own decisions, and there are likely to be different perspectives on who is being most loving, or reasonable or responsible, who started what, or who is to blame for the current situation.
Tag Archives: Lasting Power of Attorney
A day in the life of a court observer: The high cost of open justice
By Celia Kitzinger, 29th July 2025 The aim of this blog is to promote a more realistic understanding, both for would-be observers and for court staff, lawyers and judges, of what it takes to observe (remote) court hearings. I want to make visible how much time and energy it takes – not only for meContinue reading “A day in the life of a court observer: The high cost of open justice”
Our ordinary story ….and how it became an unbelievable family experience of the Court of Protection
By Amanda Hill, 9 April 2025 (Amanda previously wrote a blog about her experience in March 2023. She had to write that under a pseudonym, Anna. This is what she wrote at the time: https://openjusticecourtofprotection.org/2023/03/17/deprived-of-her-liberty-my-experience-of-the-court-procedure-for-my-mum/) Last weekend I read through the 300-page court bundle of documents associated with my mum’s Court of Protection (COP) caseContinue reading “Our ordinary story ….and how it became an unbelievable family experience of the Court of Protection”
Revoking Lasting Powers of Attorney and an object lesson in Open Justice best practice
By Georgina Baidoun, 24th June 2024 As often happens now, especially with cases involving attorneys and deputies, this one was listed as ‘attended’, which I took to mean “in person”. This means that the parties (or their representatives) are attending in person, but it’s possible that there’s a link set up for others involved in theContinue reading “Revoking Lasting Powers of Attorney and an object lesson in Open Justice best practice”
The Public Guardian, Gifts and Attorneys
By Georgina Baidoun, 10 June 2024 My interest in observing COP cases is limited to cases involving attorneys and deputies, and these are usually about property and financial affairs. There are few of them to observe and they are increasingly listed as being ‘in person’, which makes it hard for me to attend. I was thereforeContinue reading “The Public Guardian, Gifts and Attorneys”
The story of TW and her amazing friend and attorney – two years on
By Amanda Hill, formerly known as ‘Anna’ 22nd March 2024 The first hearing I ever observed in the Court of Protection (COP 13744224) was on 3rd May 2022, nearly 2 years ago now[1]. It concerned a woman in her nineties (TW), in a care home following discharge from hospital after a fall. She wanted to return homeContinue reading “The story of TW and her amazing friend and attorney – two years on”
Lasting Powers of Attorney: The problem with leaving it too late
by George Palmer, 26th February 2024 Many people are unaware that you can appoint another person to make decisions on behalf of your health and welfare and/or your financial affairs if you ever lose the capacity to make these decisions for yourself. This involves appointing someone as your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). You can checkContinue reading “Lasting Powers of Attorney: The problem with leaving it too late”
The logic, law and language of Lasting Power of Attorney: A case before Hayden J
By Clare Fuller, 12 July 2023 Advance Care Planning is something I care passionately about. As a nurse specialising in Palliative and End of Life Care I have seen first-hand and too often what can happen if appropriate plans are not in place. Advance Care Planning means thinking ahead, not waiting for a crisis andContinue reading “The logic, law and language of Lasting Power of Attorney: A case before Hayden J”
Opaque justice in the Court of Protection: A dispute about the validity of Lasting Power of Attorney
By Daniel Clark, 21st April 2023 At 2pm on Friday 14th April 2023, I observed a directions hearing (COP 13795316) via MS Teams before Deputy District Judge Chahal sitting at First Avenue House in London. I simply couldn’t follow it. Wittgenstein’s notion of language-games proposes that language only has meaning when applied in its context. In other words, it is action thatContinue reading “Opaque justice in the Court of Protection: A dispute about the validity of Lasting Power of Attorney”
‘Test case’ on Lasting Powers of Attorney – with troubling delay
By Celia Kitzinger, 31st January 2023 At some point in the future, there may be a time for all of us when we can’t make decisions for ourselves. It may come suddenly, as it did for my younger sister, Polly, who was catastrophically brain-injured in a car crash in 2009. Or we may lose capacity toContinue reading “‘Test case’ on Lasting Powers of Attorney – with troubling delay”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 