Health and Welfare
Professional Attorney or Deputy

What is a Professional Attorney or Deputy?

A professional attorney or deputy is a regulated professional, such as a solicitor, social worker, occupational therapist, psychologist or registered nurse.

There are two types of attorney or deputy, one is for matters of Property and Financial Affairs, and the other is for Health and Welfare. We provide a bespoke Health and Welfare attorney and deputyship services across the UK, as experts in the field of health and care. As an attorney or deputy, we make health, care and welfare decisions for individuals when they are no longer able to make these choices themselves.

Our Care Consultants act when you can't and we act for the duration of your life, or the life of the attorney or deputyship. Our team of expert consultants are drawn from the nursing, social work or occupational therapy modalities. We always recommend having at least two attorneys under this service. A nurse or occupational therapist (OT) will typically lead health matters, and our social work experts will lead on care and welfare matters, but we can act jointly if you prefer.

All our professional attorneys and deputies are qualified senior consultants with over 10 years of post-qualifying experience, and have undertaken an advanced or postgraduate qualification in health and care, or have extensive leadership or management experience in the NHS or Social Services.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why do you offer a Care Consultant for Life?

It's a fact that we are living longer and have more medical and care needs later in life. The NHS and Social Services are there in emergencies, but the criteria for non-urgent care and support are changing year on year, and sometimes people can not wait for an emergency to access help and support. A Care Consultant for Life is there for you whenever you need us. It's like having your own health and care team on permanent standby.

How does it work?

You would select us to act as your Professional Attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney, and we will agree to act on your behalf for life. Our Care Consultants can support you later in life, looking after your health, welfare and safety. We do this with care, compassion and a commitment to help you. We'll make care and health decisions on your behalf when you're unable to act for yourself, and we'll monitor and ensure the care and support is meeting your health, welfare and care needs. Before we act, we'll get to know you over several meetings and build a detailed profile of your life, wishes, opinions, values and views. We keep this secure on our secure care records system. You can also access this system for a small licensing fee. We'll work together to ensure your needs, wishes, and views are always accurately represented, and when the time comes to make a decision, we'll step into your shoes as far as possible and make the decision in your best interest.

Why should I use Nova Care?

A Nova Care Consultant will always be a qualified, registered and regulated health and care professional. An Independent Care Advisor is an unregulated para-practitioner, and anyone can become an Independent Care Advisor with no formal training and no official regulator overseeing their practice. Only registered health and care professionals work as Care Consultants with Nova Care, so you're in safe, caring and regulated hands.

Why would I need a Professional Attorney or Deputy?

There are several reasons why people decide to select and appoint a health and care professional as their attorney. Some of the most common reasons people choose a professional over a family or friend, or a combined professional and lay attorney, may include:

• the person may be living alone without any close connections;

• the person may not have anyone who can support them later in life;

• the person may not have any children or close family members able and willing to act;

• family members of the person might live overseas or be estranged;

• family members of the person may have their own health needs and not be able to act;

• the person may not feel confident that their family will carry out their wishes, either through misunderstanding or because their family have opposing views; or

• the person may not wish to place the burden upon their family.

Is this a regulated area?

Absolutely. As professional attorneys, we are required to follow strict guidelines and adhere to a Code of Practice. Our work is subject to a higher standard, as set out in the Mental Capacity Code of Practice (2007). We also have to maintain our own continued professional development as registered professionals. We work closely with legal professionals in this field, including some judges from the Court of Protection and the Mental Health Tribunal Service, to ensure our service meets the highest standards.

Why might I want to hire a professional attorney over a layperson, such as my family?

There are several reasons why you might decide to appoint a professional attorney. You may wish to have someone who has the necessary skills and knowledge, or you may wish to ease the burden on a friend or family member, or in some cases, you may not have any friends or family. We can also act as replacement attorneys, and this provides a backup for your attorney if they can not act.

What are the skills, knowledge and experience of a Nova Care Consultants for Life?

Attorneys must make complex decisions about another person’s health and welfare matters, often requiring prompt action, as these decisions can have a lasting impact. We understand the importance of making the right decision, so our team has extensive experience in making best-interest decisions. Many of our consultants have managed best interest meetings and have even presented or been called upon to give expert evidence in court. Professional attorneys can call upon extensive knowledge and experience to deal with these matters as effectively as possible.

How much is a Care Consultant for Life?

We have three stages of our service, which we refer to as onboarding, inactive and active. Each stage has a fixed fee, so you'll know precisely what you'll pay each year.

Stage 1: Our onboarding fee is £955 and covers the first 12 months, as well as your Care Needs and Wellbeing Assessment, and your Anticipatory Health and Care Plan assessed by your care consultants. The onboarding fee is a combination of your assessment fee set at £695 and 50% of the retainer fee for your first year (£260).

Stage 2: From month 13 until you need us, you transition to the inactive part of our service. Our annual fee is £10 per week. This serves as our retainer fee and covers the cost of your yearly review, or up to 4 hours of our time in that year.

Stage 3: When we are required to step up and act as your LPA, you become an active client, and the fees increase to £20 per week from the week we start supporting you. It is possible that if you regain capacity, you may become an inactive client again; in this case, we will adjust your fee band accordingly.

Your website say your can act at no cost, how does this work?

We have designed a bespoke way we can act at no cost or at a limited cost to you. Whilst we do not say it's free, it's as close to this as possible. If you would like to learn more, please contact us at your convenience.

Are there additional fees to pay?

If you require any additional support, we will charge a capped hourly rate of £100 per hour. Sometimes, we may delegate non-essential tasks to our assistants, whom we directly oversee, and you'll pay half the consultant's rate for this work. We always ensure that any charges are proportionate, necessary and ethical. Strict Codes of Conduct bind our practitioners to act in a way compatible with our professional values. We can offer a cost-effective retainer service, as we only front-end what you need us to act on, which means you only pay us when you need us.

How do you get paid if I lose capacity?

This is an important question. You'll need someone else to manage your finances, so we recommend a LPA for Property and Financial Affairs. We do not offer this service, as we believe this requires a person or a professional to manage. We also ensure that a special clause is included in your Lasting Power of Attorney that permits us to charge. Many people opt to have a solicitor manage their property and financial affairs later in life, and we feel this offers a strong safeguard to us, and most importantly, to you. We have worked with several law firms and specialist Later Life Consultant Solicitors under this arrangement and will be happy to guide you in this area.

Will my Care Consultant for Life change?

No, this is a promise we make to you that statutory service can never offer this level of continuity. Because we act as individual professionals (not via corporate appointment), you will always have the same two Care Consultants for Life. Don't worry, your fees are not impacted by this offer.

How do you know which decisions to make on my behalf?

We do this by:

• Supporting you through every step, even when you can't make the decision yourself

• Listening to your needs, views, opinions and even worries and concerns

• Maintain a detailed Care Needs and Wellbeing Plan

• Keeping your Anticipatory Health and Care Plan up to date

• Ensuring your wishes are respected throughout the decision making process

Can I appoint a mixture of Professional and Lay (family) Attorneys?

Yes, we're happy to work alongside a lay attorney or other professional attorneys, such as solicitors. It is usually recommended that you appoint either more than one attorney or one attorney and one replacement attorney. With this in mind, you may decide to appoint a professional attorney alongside a family member or friend, or we could act as the replacement attorney.

Do your fees include VAT?

Our fees and prices exclude VAT.

Can VAT be zero-rated ?

No, we have looked into this provision of health care service under HMRC Notice 701/57, and our attorney service does not meet all conditions required to offer this service at zero rate VAT.

I have another question about a Court Appointed Deputyship for Health and Welfare

Please give us a call or book a free consultation. This area is complex and more involved than an LPA, and we're happy to speak with you on the phone, on MS Teams, or even in person over coffee or tea.

Do you have any questions?