Appointeeship - What is an Appointee?

An Appointee is an individual/organisation registered with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP). The nominated Appointee is allowed to receive another person’s benefits when they are unable to manage their finances. This could be due to them suffering a mental/physical incapacity. An appointee can help with claiming benefits, managing money and paying bills for the individual.

Appointeeship differs from a Deputyship in a few ways;

• A Deputy is supervised by the Office of the Public Guardian whereas appointees are regulated by DWP.
• An Appointee has a small level of legal authority over someone’s finances compared to a Deputy- the appointee’s role is restricted to welfare benefits. There needs to be careful consideration on the type of assets to be managed, as this would inform whether Deputyship or Appointeeship would be more appropriate.

The role of the Appointee includes informing DWP of any changes to the individual’s circumstances. The appointee will check the balance of savings of the individual each month, pay necessary bills and inform the DWP if figures have changed enough to affect the benefits being received.

The process to become an appointee is straight forward and it can be done quickly with no fees. It requires the potential Appointee to be interviewed by DWP who will take you through a form; during Covid 19 all interviews are taking place remotely by telephone.

Our solicitors at Johnson Astills will be able to advise you as to whether an application for Deputyship or appointeeship is more appropriate and provide you with the necessary information as to how to go about setting up a meeting with DWP, your role as an Appointee and obtaining the Appointee Security bond.

It is important to remember that an Appointee does not have authority to deal with the individual’s bank accounts or other assets/private income. If these assets also need to be managed our solicitors at Johnson Astills would be able to advise whether a deputyship application would be more suitable.

Here at Johnson Astills we have specialist solicitors who can advise you in relation to applications for Appointeeship; if you would like to speak to a solicitor in our Wills and Probate department please call us on 0116 255 4855.