The Court of Protection provides a format for a Deputy to resolve a dispute in which those concerned, often the family and the local authority, cannot reach agreement.

Some cases will need to be resolved by a Judge, such as a question of capacity, but the majority can be resolved through mediation. It allows for the parties to express their views and possibly take into account the views of the elder, as one should under the MCA Code of Conduct. It also allows the parties to agree on other matters which are outside the jurisdiction of the Court. An example of this would be when we were dealing with a financial challenge to the conduct of a Deputy  - we were able to deal with the sharing of the mother's jewellery, which we discovered had been the real cause of the fall out.

Typical cases where mediation could be used are:

“The majority of solicitors favour elder mediations, considering them more effective and less traumatic than going to court.”

Unfortunately this very clear advice is not followed in practice and it is for this reason that we are setting up elders mediation specifically to provide a professional and dedicated team to resolve issues for the elder and vulnerable person without the need and trauma of going to court.

In Court of Protection mediations the parties can choose to split the costs of the mediation between them, or it may be that the Deputy feels that it is in the best interest of the person without capacity that the costs of the mediation is paid from their estate.