GUIDES
If a person entitled to apply for a grant lacks capacity to manage their affairs, probate rules provide routes for another eligible person to apply. PA14 supplies capacity evidence; it does not itself appoint a deputy or decide who receives the grant.
Author: Nellie Supports Ltd
Publication Date: 15/05/2026
The Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, SI 1987/2024. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/2024/contents
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If a person entitled to apply for a grant lacks capacity to manage their affairs, probate rules provide routes for another eligible person to apply. PA14 supplies capacity evidence; it does not itself appoint a deputy or decide who receives the grant. This guide covers the relevant evidence, support, process and limits in England and Wales.
If a person entitled to apply for a grant lacks capacity to manage their affairs, probate rules provide routes for another eligible person to apply. PA14 supplies capacity evidence; it does not itself appoint a deputy or decide who receives the grant. The correct route depends on the will, other people entitled, any registered power and court authority. A general deputyship order is not necessarily specific authority to apply for the grant.
A grant of representation, probate where there is a will, letters of administration where there is not, puts the legal authority to administer an estate into named hands, and capacity meets it at the threshold: the person entitled to apply must be able to take on the role. Where an executor or entitled administrator lacks that capacity, the estate cannot simply proceed through them, and probate practice provides routes for the authority to pass lawfully to someone who can act.
Administering an estate is sustained financial decision-making: gathering assets, paying debts and taxes, keeping accounts, instructing professionals and distributing to beneficiaries, with personal liability attaching to mistakes. The capacity question is whether the person can understand, retain, use or weigh the information this role involves and communicate their decisions within it, assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 with any inability tied causatively to an impairment of, or disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain.
Other executors or entitled applicants may be able to act, but the will and probate rules determine the route. Obtain evidence of the capacity issue and advice about the application rather than informally replacing the executor or using a renunciation form that assumes a capacitous choice.
Rule 35 sets an order: a person authorised by the Court of Protection to apply; if none, a lawful attorney under a registered EPA or LPA; then the person entitled to the residuary estate, subject to the rule and any direction. It also addresses people entitled in the same degree and permits a judge or registrar to direct another grant. Unless the applicant is the person specifically authorised by the Court of Protection, notice of the intended rule 35 application must be given to that court.
A property and affairs deputy manages only matters authorised by the order. Specific authority to apply for a grant may be needed, and a one-off order or other probate route may be appropriate. Deputyship is not automatically required merely because PA14 is used.
A beneficiary retains their entitlement even if they cannot manage the inheritance. Obtain advice on lawful receipt and management, considering existing powers, a court order, the nature of the entitlement and any trust. Do not assume that incapacity removes ownership or that relatives may handle the money informally.
PA14 should rest on a supported, decision-relevant assessment and be completed by an eligible professional. HMCTS lists eight eligible categories for PA14: registered medical practitioner, registered psychiatrist, registered approved mental health professional, registered social worker, registered psychologist, state registered nurse, state registered mental nurse and registered occupational therapist. Eligibility for this form does not establish competence for every case or authority to sign other certificates. A COP3 or wider financial assessment may use overlapping evidence but is not automatically interchangeable with the certificate.
Identify the person’s estate role, relevant capacity concern, other entitled people and existing powers or orders. Confirm the probate route and notice requirements with the practitioner, then obtain the required evidence. Broader management of the person’s own affairs should be considered separately where needed.
PA14 gives evidence in a probate process; it does not choose the applicant or confer authority over the person’s own affairs. The registry applies the probate rules, the court grants any required powers and each capacity opinion needs its own defined scope.
No. A diagnosis does not establish lack of capacity. For a decision under the Mental Capacity Act, consider the relevant information and practicable support, then assess understanding, retention, use or weighing and communication by any means. Any inability must be caused by an impairment of, or disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain. Will-making has its own legal test.
Provide the estate role and relevant decision documents, health and support evidence, any powers or court orders and information about others entitled. Check the current PA14 and eligible author list with the probate practitioner. A broad diagnosis alone does not answer the certificate’s decision-relevant question.
Assess formally when the executor's or administrator's ability is in genuine doubt, when family members disagree about it, or when the estate's value means the grant may later be examined. A careful assessment can provide useful evidence, but it does not prevent later challenge or determine the court or other decision-maker’s conclusion.
The related guides below provide further explanation of the decisions, evidence and legal processes discussed here.
Check the will, other people entitled to act and any registered power or court order with the probate practitioner. Ask who is eligible to apply and whether PA14 and notice to the Court of Protection are required for the proposed route.
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