Power of Attorney, Court of Protection Deputy Order and Guardianship Order

Set up a Power of Attorney
Apply for a Court of Protection Deputy Order
Apply for a Guardianship Order
Register one of these legal documents with us
What are these legal documents?
Do you need legal support?

When someone isn’t able to look after their finances themselves, another person can be put in charge of the finances.

Power of Attorney, Court of Protection Deputy Orders and Guardianship Orders are legal documents which give someone this power to manage someone else’s finances.

Set up a Lasting Power of Attorney

You can only set up a Power of Attorney whilst the account holder has mental capacity. Only the account holder can set up a Power of Attorney.

Before applying, you should:

• Check the person you want to give Power of Attorney to meets the requirements
• Read about the registration fee you’ll need to pay.

You can:

• Set up a Power of Attorney in England or Wales
• Set up a Power of Attorney in Scotland
• Set up a Power of Attorney in Northern Ireland.

Apply for a Court of Protection Deputy Order

You can only apply to become someone's deputy if they lack mental capacity to make decisions about their financial affairs and they have not previously appointed an Attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney.

Before applying, you should:

• Check you meet the requirements to be a deputy
• Read about the application fee you’ll need to pay.

You can:

• Apply to be a personal welfare deputy
• Apply to be a property and financial affairs deputy.

If you just need to help someone deal with their benefits, you can instead apply to be an appointee.

Apply for a Guardianship Order

You can only apply to become someone’s guardian when they have gone missing, are in prison abroad and cannot communicate, or have been taken hostage or been kidnapped.

Before applying, you should:

• Check you meet the requirements to be a guardian
• Read about the application fee you’ll need to pay.

Apply for a Guardianship Order

Register a Power of Attorney, Court of Protection Deputy Order or Guardianship Order with us

Prepare these documents

You'll need to gather the following documents to provide to us.

Power of Attorney, Court of Protection or Guardianship Order document

We need an original or a certified copy. If sending a copy, make sure the document is certified on every page.

How to certify a copy of your Power of Attorney, Court of Protection Deputy Order or Guardianship Order

Power of Attorney, Court of Protection and Guardianship form

We need this completed form, with details about the account holder and the attorney, deputy or guardian(s), in order to process access to the bank account.

Power of Attorney, Court of Protection and Guardianship registration form (PDF)

Proof of identity and address

We need one proof of ID and one proof of address (these should be two separate documents, and you can use either originals or certified copies):

• If you’re an attorney or deputy, you only need to provide these documents for yourself
• If you’re a guardian, you need to provide these documents for yourself, and for the account holder the guardianship is being registered for – we need one proof of ID and one proof of address (two separate documents) for each person.

What identity documents you can provide and how to certify a copy of your documents

Bring the documents to us in branch

You can book an appointment to bring the documents into a Co-operative Bank branch.

To book an appointment for a Co-operative Bank or smile account call +44 (0)3457 212 212 (call charges).

Lines are open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday.

Post the documents to us

You can post the documents to us. Once we've received your documents by post, we'll aim to scan and post them back to you by recorded delivery within 10 days.

If possible, use a trackable delivery service. These are important documents that can be difficult and time-consuming to replace.

Click on the relevant heading below to see the postal address.

What happens when we receive the documents?

Once we receive all of the completed documents, we'll begin to register the order. This will take up to 10 working days.

We'll send confirmation of the registration in writing to the account holder, and the attorney, deputy or guardian. We may also call the account holder, and the attorney, deputy or guardian, to confirm they have been registered.

What’s the difference between these legal documents?

What is mental capacity?

Having mental capacity means being able to make your own decisions. Someone may not have mental capacity for many reasons, including:

• A serious brain injury
• An illness such as dementia
• Severe learning disabilities.

What can an attorney, deputy or guardian do?

Once legally appointed, the attorney, deputy or guardian can view and manage the existing accounts of the person the document is registered for. This will include being able to:

• View balances
• Pay bills
• Withdraw cash
• Make transfers
• Register for telephone banking
• Apply for accounts.

A guardian will also be able to manage the property of the person the document is registered for.