Mental Capacity Assessment
Mental Capacity Assessment for Acting as a Trustee
Specialist capacity assessments for active trustee responsibilities across England and Wales
A capacity to act as a trustee assessment considers whether a person can understand and carry out the responsibilities of trustee office. It is not a general opinion about capacity overall. It applies the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to that specific decision: whether the person can understand, retain, use or weigh the relevant information about the trustee role and its duties, and communicate a decision.
£600 + VAT
Standard fee, stated before instruction
5 working days
Typical turnaround
England and Wales
Nationwide coverage
Decision-specific
Assessed to the right standard
Nellie Supports is England and Wales' largest identified specialist private social work and mental capacity assessment practice, delivered by a permanent full-time team. Services are provided by employed, multidisciplinary professionals, not an ad hoc associate, contractor or referral-panel model. We have completed over 11,000 formal assessments and reports. This service sits alongside our full range of mental capacity assessment services.
When you may need this assessment
The assessor considers whether the person can understand, retain, use or weigh relevant information and communicate their decision.
The final report explains the assessment, evidence and capacity opinion.
The legal test for Trustee Acting capacity
A Trustee Acting capacity assessment applies the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to the specific decision. The question is whether, at the time the decision needs to be made, the person can:
Understand the information relevant to the decision about Trustee Acting
Retain that information long enough to make the decision
Use or weigh that information as part of making the decision
Communicate their decision by any means
A person may lack capacity for some trustee decisions but retain capacity for other, narrower decisions.
Framework: Mental Capacity Act 2005 ss 1 to 3 and the Code of Practice; the Trustee Act 1925 and Trustee Act 2000.
For more, read our guide: Mental Capacity Act 2005 key principles explained.
Our assessment process
Initial enquiry and triage
Contact us by phone, email or website form. We gather the key details, explain how the assessment works, and confirm the specific decision to be assessed.
Quotation and booking
Once we understand the scope, we provide a clear quotation including VAT and any applicable travel costs, and arrange an appointment as quickly as possible.
Assessment appointment
A qualified assessor meets the person face to face, or remotely where appropriate, and carries out a decision-specific capacity assessment.
Report preparation and peer review
The findings are written up in a clear, structured report and reviewed by a second qualified professional for quality, consistency and legal robustness.
Secure delivery
Your completed report is delivered securely, usually within your stated turnaround period, with reasonable minor amendments or clarification available after delivery.
What the assessor evaluates
A well-reasoned assessment explains how the conclusion has been reached, rather than simply stating an outcome, tied to the actual decision in issue.
The specific decision being assessed
Whether the person was given the relevant information in a way they can understand
Whether they understand the information relevant to the decision
Whether they can retain that information long enough to decide
Whether they can use or weigh the relevant information
Whether they can communicate their decision by any means
Whether any inability is because of an impairment or disturbance of the mind or brain
The support provided, the person's views, and the reasoning behind the conclusion
Fees and timescales
£600 + VAT
VAT at 20% and travel costs are not included. Enhanced: £3,500 + VAT.
Decision-specific trustee assessment
Understanding trustee duties
Ongoing decision-making ability
Mental Capacity Act compliant analysis
Relevant information for acting as trustee
Written capacity report
Travel charged at £40.00per hour
Standard or Enhanced, which does your case need?
A standard assessment is right for most cases where the decision is clear and undisputed. Where the case is complex or contested, an enhanced assessment provides a deeper, more defensible evidential foundation.
Standard Assessment
£600 + VAT
- Decision-specific assessment of the exact decision
- Completed in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005
- MoCA where appropriate
- Court-ready report
For most cases where the decision is clear and undisputed.
Enhanced Assessment
£3,500 + VAT
- Extended, multi-layered assessment
- Structured analysis of vulnerability and undue influence
- Broader evidential framework for likely challenge
- Robust reporting where the decision may be disputed
For complex or contested cases.
A full-time, multidisciplinary team
Nellie Supports is built on an employed, permanent team: registered social workers, a Chartered Psychologist and specialist assessors working together to one standard, with every report peer reviewed by a second qualified professional. Your assessment is never passed to an associate bank or referral panel.
The right professional for the decision
Capacity questions range from care and residence to complex cognition and prognosis. A multidisciplinary team means the discipline is matched to the decision, not to whoever is available.
One consistent standard
The team works together full time, so every assessment follows the same methodology and peer review is built into every report rather than bolted on.
Accountability you can name
Your report is signed by an employed professional who answers for their work, and the practice stands behind it.
Continuity, not hand-offs
The people who take your enquiry, carry out the assessment and review the report all work in one practice, so nothing is lost between stages.
How this works in practice
Concern about continuing as trustee
An assessment may be needed where there is concern that a trustee no longer understands the role or can no longer participate in trust decisions.
Property, estate or trust decisions are blocked
Trustee capacity may become urgent where a property sale, trust distribution, estate administration step or financial decision cannot proceed.
Uncertainty about acting or retiring
Sometimes the real issue is not whether the person can act as a trustee, but whether they can decide to retire from the role.
This is an illustrative example. It does not describe any individual client.
Why families, solicitors and professionals choose Nellie Supports
Decision-specific, not generic
Focused on the exact decision in issue and the information relevant to it, not a broad opinion about capacity overall.
Court-ready reporting
Reports structured for solicitors, the Court of Protection and other professionals who need to rely on them.
Therapeutic assessment interviews
A calm, supportive conversation that helps the person engage as fully as possible.
Nationwide coverage
A permanent team covering England and Wales, in person or by video where appropriate.
Peer reviewed as standard
Every report is reviewed by a second qualified professional before it is issued.
Employed, not outsourced
A permanent full-time team, not an ad hoc panel of associates.
Frequently Asked Questions About Capacity to Act as a Trustee Assessments
Is capacity to act as a trustee the same as capacity to manage finances?
No. There may be overlap, but acting as a trustee is a distinct role involving duties to beneficiaries, trust property, co-trustees and the terms of the trust. The assessment should focus on the trustee decision rather than treating it as a general finances assessment.
Is capacity to act as a trustee the same as capacity to retire as a trustee?
No. Acting as a trustee can involve ongoing and complex fiduciary responsibilities, while retiring as a trustee is usually a narrower decision about stepping down from the role. The relevant information differs between the two, so the decisions may need separate assessments. See our page on capacity to retire as a trustee at https://www.nelliesupports.com/services/mental-capacity-assessments/capacity-to-retire-as-a-trustee
Can an attorney under an LPA simply act as trustee instead?
Not automatically. An LPA does not by itself resolve trustee capacity issues, because trustee powers are subject to the trust instrument and specific trustee legislation rather than to the LPA. Solicitors should check whether delegation, replacement, retirement or court involvement is required in the particular case, and the capacity report provides the evidence base for whichever route is chosen.
What happens if the person lacks capacity to act as a trustee?
The report explains the reasons for the capacity opinion against the duties the person would need to understand and weigh. The legal next step may involve replacement under trustee legislation, consideration of the remaining trustees, or a court route if the matter cannot be resolved without court assistance. Those steps are for the solicitor; the report gives them the evidence to proceed.
Can this assessment be used in Court of Protection or trustee applications?
Yes. The report provides decision-specific capacity evidence for solicitors, deputies and professional decision-makers, prepared to a court-ready, CPR Part 35 compliant standard. Whether it is sufficient for a particular application depends on the facts, the trust structure and the legal route being used, so tell us about the intended application at the enquiry stage and we will scope the report accordingly.
What if the assessment does not reach the conclusion we hoped for?
Our assessments are independent, and that independence is what gives the report its value. We do not begin from a preferred answer. We assess the specific decision on its merits and record the reasoning, whatever the conclusion. A report that only ever confirmed what was hoped for would carry no weight with a solicitor, the Court of Protection or anyone else relying on it.
Where do you cover?
Assessments are carried out across England and Wales, at home, in care settings, in hospital or remotely where appropriate. Travel is charged at £40 per hour and confirmed before booking.
Who will carry out the assessment?
A registered professional from our permanent, employed team, which includes Social Work England and Social Care Wales registered social workers and a Chartered Psychologist (BPS). Every report is peer reviewed by a second qualified professional before delivery.
Related mental capacity guides
Mental Capacity Act 2005 key principles explained
A guide to the core principles that underpin every decision-specific capacity assessment.
What is relevant information in a capacity assessment?
Explains why the relevant information must be identified for the exact decision being assessed.
How to prepare for a mental capacity assessment
Practical guidance for families, solicitors and professionals preparing background information for an assessment.
What makes a capacity report court-ready?
Explains the structure, reasoning and evidence needed where a report may be relied on by a court or professional decision-maker.
How to instruct a mental capacity assessor
Guidance for professional referrers on giving clear instructions and identifying the precise decision to be assessed.
Other assessment types
If a different decision needs to be assessed, our team can help across the full range of mental capacity assessments.
COP3 mental capacity assessment
For Court of Protection deputyship applications.
Capacity to Manage Finances
Independent, decision-specific assessment of capacity to manage money, property and financial affairs.
Nellie Supports provides independent social work assessment, evidence and advocacy support. We do not provide regulated legal advice, and where a legal remedy is needed we will say so and support your solicitor's work.
Need a capacity to act as a trustee assessment?
Contact Nellie Supports to discuss the trustee decision, the information required and whether the instruction should focus on acting, retiring, or both decisions separately.
Written by Ben Slater, Founder and Managing Director, Nellie Supports. Read our editorial policy.