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Form COP3: Your questions answered

Court of Protection logo

What is a COP3  COP3 is a specialist assessment of capacity form used by the Court of Protection. Used to establish if a person has the mental capacity to make a specific decision. The Court of Protection only makes decisions in the best interests of those who have been assessed as lacking the mental capacity…

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When is an Individual being Deprived of their Liberty – Guidance for Legal Professional’s seeking an Order from Court of Protection to Sell a Property 

Acid test

What is a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard? Usually, a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS) application would be made for an individual who has been assessed as, or assumed not to have the mental capacity to understand their health and social care needs, who may be at risk from harm should they leave the current place…

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Meet the Team at Thornton & Lee

At Thornton & Lee we are so proud of the talent pool of skilled and experienced Mental Capacity Assessors available for face to face and virtual assessments throughout England and Wales. All of our assessment team are qualified, registered and insured Independent Social Workers, and also our Guest Expert Mental Capacity Assessor Registered Mental Health…

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Can I make a new Will if I have Dementia?

Black and white image of an elderly man sitting down and looking off to the right

In short, the answer to this question is absolutely yes, a diagnosis of any type of cognitive impairment or specifically Dementia does not prevent an individual from drawing up a new Will, or from making changes to an existing Will in most circumstances. At Thornton & Lee we meet individuals with Dementia regularly, who are…

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Why Complete a Testamentary Capacity Assessment?

old hand holding a baby hand

Did you know that your Will could be contested after your death? That the Court may even decide that it’s invalid, or even that an individual not named as a beneficiary may be able to lay argument to the Court that they have been unfairly left out?. This week the Telegraph newspaper has reported to…

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Who Can Complete a COP3 form?

Client receiving a COP3 assessment

It will never happen to me If you have stumbled across this blog by accident it’s likely that you already have doubts about the mental capacity of your loved one to look after their own affairs. It might be that such difficulties never occurred to you before your loved one became too confused to be…

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PA14 Forms: Your questions answered

Empowered elderly man

Finalising the Estate for someone you have lost can be an overwhelming task, especially when you have to juggle potential hold ups with the Executor of the Will. There are ways to help with this situation such as completing a PA14 form.  If you have concerns about the person who is named the Executor or…

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Dr Gregory Lecturer of Social Work at the UEA discusses Why Values Matter in Social Work

Social work is an inherently value-based profession, but in practice we often spend relatively little time reflecting on what is important to us as social workers and as human beings. Student social workers are regularly encouraged to think about their own values and where they come from by their lecturers and practice educators, however once…

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Dr Corner of the UEA tells us how understanding Personhood and Citizenship can benefit those with Dementia

Dr Corner

This week I received one of my favourite types of emails, Mrs M who is a daughter who we supported with a mental capacity assessment for her mother Mrs R, to assist with a Deputyship application a year ago, sent me a courtesy update on the Court application, but also on how her mother is…

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The role of Independent Social Workers in exploring Undue Influence in drafted Wills

With another high profile contested Will Court case hitting the Newspapers 14th February 2023 titled “War over ‘genius’ bankers £18m fortune: Brother of ex-Goldman Sachs financier brands his Polish lover a ‘call girl’ who ‘conned him out of £4m chunk of estate – including his London flat – before he died aged 55“. It once…

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