Adding a deputy to a bank account after a Court of Protection order

A deputy is someone the Court of Protection appoints to manage another person's money when that person has lost mental capacity and has not set up a power of attorney. Once the court order is granted, the deputy must register it with each bank or building society before they can touch the account. The bank then adds the deputy to the account, and the deputy can manage it in much the same way the account holder could: paying bills, moving money, opening and closing accounts, and dealing with statements and Direct Debits¹.

The order is the key document. Without it, a bank has no authority to let anyone else operate the account, and if the account holder has lost capacity and there is no power of attorney, the bank may restrict the account to essential transactions only³. A deputyship is the route that exists precisely for that situation.

How long registration takes varies by bank. One building society says it usually takes up to 11 working days to register someone as a deputy⁵. Another bank says that once it receives the documents it can take up to a month⁶. The practical work is in gathering the paperwork, not in the registration itself.

What a deputy can do on someone else's bank account

A deputy's powers are wide but not unlimited. Banks describe the deputy as able to manage the account in the same way the account holder could, just like a power of attorney, including withdrawals, opening and closing accounts, making payments in and making amendments². In practice that covers having statements sent to the deputy's address, updating address details, and adding, removing or cancelling standing orders and Direct Debits⁷.

At one high street bank the list of permitted actions includes holding a debit card, obtaining information about the account holder's accounts, opening or closing accounts in the account holder's name, issuing cheques, making payments such as bills, withdrawing cash, depositing cash and cheques, retrieving items from safekeeping, applying for ISAs, accessing online and mobile banking, accessing phone banking, holding a cheque or pay-in book, managing the account if the account holder becomes mentally incapacitated, and signing a mortgage loan agreement. All of those are subject to any restrictions or special instructions in the court order⁸.

That last point matters. The court order can limit what the deputy does, and the bank will follow the order rather than the general rule. A deputy who wants to transfer money into someone else's account needs to go back to court for approval⁹.

When a deputy can be added: the Court of Protection order

A deputy can be added to an account following a Court of Protection order, when the account holder has lost mental capacity and has not set up a power of attorney². The application goes to the Court of Protection, which considers whether it is necessary for ongoing decisions to be made on the person's behalf, and whether the applicant is suitable³.

In England and Wales, the Court of Protection can appoint a deputy or an appointee¹⁰. The court can appoint someone as a deputy to make decisions on someone's behalf, and a person can apply to the court for an order to be appointed¹¹. Once appointed, the deputy has complete control of the person's bank accounts¹¹. More than one deputy can be appointed for the same person¹¹.

The same route applies to specific products. For a Junior ISA, where the account holder has lost capacity, a close friend or relative needs to apply to the Court of Protection for a financial deputyship order¹².

The order is not self-executing at the bank. Once a Court of Protection order is granted, the deputy must register it with the bank before they can manage the account⁶. Until that happens, the bank has no instruction to act on.

How to add a deputy to a bank account

The process is the same shape at most banks, though the detail differs. Contact the bank, send the order and identification, wait for registration, then ask for the access you need.

1. Get the Court of Protection order. The court appoints the deputy and issues the order¹¹.
2. Contact each bank and building society where the person holds an account. Most account providers will allow a helper to access an account, and each has its own instructions¹³.
3. Send the Court of Protection document and two forms of identification. For savings accounts, some banks also want a savings application form; for mortgages, a completed "keep us up to date" form².
4. Wait for registration. One building society says up to 11 working days⁵; one bank says up to a month from receiving the documents⁶.
5. Ask about online and app access separately. Some banks cannot give a deputy access to someone else's accounts through their app yet, so branch and phone banking may be the practical route².

On identification, banks usually ask for two separate documents proving who you are and where you live, such as a passport and a recent bill. If you do not have the usual documents, a letter from a responsible person such as a GP, teacher, social worker or probation officer may be accepted instead¹⁴. When opening an account, proof of identity and address is required, and it is worth asking the bank what it will accept if the standard documents are not available¹⁵.

For phone and online banking specifically, one bank asks the deputy to register for phone banking first, then apply for online banking in a branch or by calling, once the court order has been updated in its records¹⁷.

Deputy or power of attorney: which one applies

These are alternatives, not stages of the same process. A lasting power of attorney is set up by the person themselves, while they still have capacity, choosing who acts for them. A deputyship is imposed by the Court of Protection when capacity has already been lost and no power of attorney exists³.

The difference has real consequences. If a partner loses mental capacity and there is no power of attorney in place, a joint account could be frozen; the bank might freeze it completely or allow only essential payments⁴. Where someone loses mental capacity without a power of attorney, the bank may restrict the account to essential transactions³. A deputyship is the way to restore full management in that situation.

There is a further wrinkle with joint accounts. One consumer organisation does not recommend opening a joint bank account with someone for whom you also hold lasting power of attorney, or its equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland¹⁸. LPA powers end when the donor has died, with the personal representative or executor taking control¹⁸.

Deputyship is not the only lighter-touch option. Most banks, building societies and other account providers allow a third party access to an account, for example with a second card¹⁹. Most account providers will allow a person to permanently or temporarily name a helper to access their account¹³. Those arrangements suit someone who still has capacity and wants practical help, not someone who has lost it.

Where a deputy's authority stops

A deputy's authority is bounded by the court order and by law. In most cases the deputy must not put money or property in their own name, give away the account holder's money, make or change a will, or claim unnecessary expenses²¹. The order itself can carry restrictions or special instructions, and the bank will follow those⁸.

A deputyship is also not the same as appointeeship. An appointee only has authority to manage the benefit payments on the designated account opened for that purpose²². Some banks set limits on the amount of money a person can have in their account when benefit payments are managed by someone else, and should tell the appointee if there is a limit and how much it is¹. If the appointee dies, their personal account will be frozen and the claimant will have no access to their money²³.

When the account holder dies, the deputyship ends. The bank may temporarily stop access to the account after death, though it might still release money for funeral costs²⁴. If the account was in the person's sole name, no one can touch the money until the estate is sorted out²⁵. A joint account continues in the remaining names⁴.

If a bank refuses to register a valid order, or handles the account badly, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about power of attorney and deputyship. One case it published concerned a customer who could not get an account reactivated because the bank said he had to come to the branch²⁶. Free, impartial help is available from MoneyHelper and from Citizens Advice.