What happens when an applicant requests a COP3 assessment, but the person has capacity?

In those instances where an individual is deemed to have sufficient capacity, our expert Social Workers record a full mental capacity assessment.

When applying for an order from the court of protection, a mental capacity assessment for the specific decision is a general requirement.

This mental capacity assessment is decision specific, for example, an application for deputyship for finances or an application for a statutory will to be created.

The principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) state we should always assume someone has capacity unless proven otherwise, and we approach every assessment from this viewpoint.

The majority of decisions assessed for the court of protection are based upon the two-stage test outlined in the Mental Capacity Act (2005)

Stage 1 – Is there an impairment of or disturbance in the functioning of a person's mind or brain? If so,

Stage 2 - The MCA says that a person is unable to make a specific decision if they cannot do one or more of the following four things:

• Understand information given to them

• Retain that information long enough to be able to make the decision

• Weigh up the information available to make the decision

• Communicate their decision – this could be by talking, using sign language or even simple muscle movements such as blinking an eye or squeezing a hand.

The COP3 form is designed explicitly for evidencing a lack of capacity for a decision.

We have seen many court of protection COP3 forms completed identifying a person to have capacity; these are generally completed by the doctor or other professional writing "Not applicable" in each of the evidence boxes. This practice, however, does not evidence a persons capacity.

In those instances where an individual is deemed to have sufficient capacity, our expert Social Workers record a full mental capacity assessment.

Our assessments are based upon those espoused by the Social Care Institue for Excellence (SCIE). This assessment is also accompanied by a COP24 Witness statement and where requested by the court a COP25 Affidavit.

You can find out more about Nellie Supports COP3 service here