Does the Court of Protection have jurisdiction if I live abroad?

What happened

A recent case examined the Court of Protection’s jurisdiction where the incapacitated person (P) lives abroad. 

The case was quite fact specific and centred on the progress or otherwise made in the personal injury claim by P’s mother. Matters became more complicated though when the mother asserted that P had moved to Italy. 

The Court found that there wasn’t sufficient evidence that P had actually moved to Italy but more importantly for our purposes, reminded us that if P has property in England and Wales, the Court of Protection retains jurisdiction. On that basis the Court was able to make a decision about P’s Deputyship even if P had moved. 

Comment

It is important to remember that even if somebody lives abroad, the Court of Protection has jurisdiction over their property in this country.  Property can include a personal injury claim, as well as cash, investments and real estate. In some cases the Court of Protection will agree that it is appropriate for a different jurisdiction to look after P’s affairs if they are going to live there. However, in our experience this depends heavily on the robustness of the other jurisdiction’s mental capacity law. We have been involved in a number of cases where P has moved, typically back to their original country of residence, but where the Court of Protection in England and Wales continues to appoint a Deputy here because the structures available to manage the affairs of P in their home country are not of a standard the Court of Protection would consider acceptable.

If you would like to discuss any aspect of this article further, please contact a member of our Court of Protection team on 0114 267 5588.

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The information in this article is necessarily of a general nature. The law stated is correct at the date (stated above) this article was first posted to our website. 

Specific advice should be sought for specific situations. If you have any queries or need any legal advice please feel free to contact Wrigleys Solicitors.