Petition Greater transparency within Court of Protection

Where solicitors are appointed by the Court of Protection to act as deputies for mentally incapacitated clients, relatives should be given sight of their bills, charges, narrative etc., if requested. At present relatives are not allowed to see a bill until after the client has died (due to client confidentiality). They can only apply to see it if they are an Executor/beneficiary with a financial interest in the bill, and only then if they have good reason to challenge it. This present state of affairs means that solicitor/deputies who overcharge or financially abuse their vulnerable clients cannot be held to account until after the client has died - too late to be of any benefit to the client himself. In the interests of transparency and in order to counter the possibility of fraud, all bills should be available for scrutiny by relatives of vulnerable clients.