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Courts Service guide on capacity applications

The Courts Service has developed a guide to the key steps involved in making a capacity application under new legislation on assisted decision-making.

The legislation, which replaces the wardship system, provides for a new legal framework to support people who may have difficulties with their capacity to make certain decisions.

The courts body began accepting applications under the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (ADMC) on 26 April.

Application forms

The guide sets out the process for making a capacity application.

As a first step, solicitors or applicants must submit completed application forms:

• Form 55A (capacity application) – court fee €130,
• Form 55B (statement of particulars) – no fee,
• Form 55I (affidavit in support of application) – court fee €15.

The guide states that this documentation must be sent to the appropriate court office for issue.

If a capacity application is being made for the purposes of the Nursing Home Support Scheme, practitioners are asked to consider the entire circumstances of the relevant person, to ensure that any decision-making representation order arising from the application deals with all the necessary personal welfare and/or property and affairs decisions that the decision-making representative may be required to make.

Court date

On receipt of the completed application, the court office will check the documents.

If all the required documents and information have been provided, the court office will:

• Provide a court date,
• Enter it on the application forms, and
• Issue the application.

The relevant person and any notice parties must be served with a copy of the issued capacity application and all supporting documents at least 21 days before the court date.

The court office will list the application for a date that allows for the statutory notice periods.

Service on appropriate persons

The issued application is then returned to the solicitor/applicant for service on appropriate persons – including the relevant person.

After serving the capacity application on the relevant person and any notice parties, practitioners must file the following documents in the court office at least four days before the hearing date of the application:

• The original Form 55D (affidavit of service on the relevant person) – court fee €15,
• The original affidavit(s) of service on any notice parties – court fee €15 per affidavit,
• An indexed booklet containing copies of documents to be relied upon at the hearing of the application.

For more information on the ADMC process, editable forms, and the associated fees, practitioners can visit www.courts.ie/assisted-decision-making-circuit-court.