How to fill in form COP1A — the financial annex to a Court of Protection application
COP1A — officially 'Annex A: Supporting information for property and financial affairs applications' — is the financial schedule that must travel with every Court of Protection application for a property and financial affairs deputy: a full account of the person's income, benefits, bank accounts, investments, property, possessions and debts, so the Court can see exactly what a deputy would be managing.
It cannot be filed on its own — the form's own instructions say it must be submitted together with COP1, and usually alongside COP3 (the capacity assessment) and COP4 (the deputy's declaration).
This walkthrough works through the schedule in the order the form actually asks for it: existing powers of attorney and the will, the income-and-assets tables that make up the bulk of the form, the easy-to-miss question about an interest in someone else's estate, the property and debt thresholds, and the statement of truth every applicant signs.
✓ Official source checked 23 August 2026 · GOV.UK last revised this form 10 January 2025COP1A on GOV.UK ↗
United Kingdom·Informational, not legal or financial advice·Official source: GOV.UK
✓Official form · always current
This is the same official COP1A file HM Courts & Tribunals Service publishes on GOV.UK — the link below fetches the current version live from GOV.UK the moment you click it, so it can never go out of date.
Current version: January 2025 · confirmed on GOV.UK 23 August 2026
This walkthrough takes COP1A section by section, in plain English. It looks like a straightforward financial schedule; the traps are the two reporting thresholds buried in the small print — debts over £1,000, possessions over £10,000 — and the property section's warning that deputyship alone doesn't authorise a sale.
Deputyship doesn't automatically let you sell jointly-owned property
The form carries its own boxed 'Important' warning at question 4.12: once appointed, a deputy does NOT automatically get legal authority to deal with the sale of jointly-held property — including where a co-owner who held it as tenants in common has since died.
If a sale will be needed, ask for that authority explicitly at 4.12. Don't assume the general deputyship order covers it — it doesn't.
The form, in summary
Valoren
COP1A·12 pages·34 fields guided
With ValorenValoren doesn't complete or file COP1A on your behalf; the bank, property and benefit detail already held in your records carries straight into the schedule instead of a blank-page start
Without Valoren3–5 hours
— pulling exact figures for every bank account, investment, property and benefit the person holds, from statements and records you may not have close to hand
Deadline
None alonemust travel with COP1 — never standalone
Who Files
Proposed deputyusually a close family member
£
Fee
No extra feerides on COP1's £432 application fee
Filed with Court of Protection (submitted with COP1)
COP1A — officially titled 'Annex A: Supporting information for property and financial affairs applications' — is the financial schedule the Court of Protection needs before it can appoint a property and financial affairs deputy.
It is not a form in its own right in the sense that it can be filed alone: its own opening instruction, repeated in its guidance notes, states this annex must be submitted with COP1 — and, for most property and financial affairs applications, alongside COP3 (the capacity assessment) and COP4 (the deputy's declaration) too.
The form works through the person's income, benefits, bank accounts, investments, property, personal possessions, business interests and debts, plus a dedicated question — 4.4 — on whether the person has an interest in someone else's estate, before closing with a statement of truth every applicant signs personally.
·Who Files — The prospective property-and-financial-affairs deputy — almost always a close family member, or a professional such as a solicitor — applying to the Court of Protection for authority to manage money, property, bills, benefits, pensions or a child trust fund on behalf of someone who lacks (or is alleged to lack) capacity and has no valid Lasting or Enduring Power of Attorney in place. The person the application concerns is alive throughout — this is not a form for the deceased's own affairs.
·12 pages · 34 fields guided
·Draws from your Estate File — Financial Accounts, Property Folio, Civil Dossier
Section01
§11
Section 1
Before you start — this annex never travels alone
COP1A supports the main COP1 application — it is not a form you can file by itself. Get the shape of the bundle right before working through the schedule.
01
It must be submitted together with COP1
The form's own opening instruction, repeated in its guidance notes on page 12, is explicit: this annex must be submitted with COP1. For most property and financial affairs applications it also travels alongside COP3 (the capacity assessment) and COP4 (the deputy's declaration) — see Valoren's COP1 walkthrough for the full four-form bundle.
02
Missing financial detail doesn't have to stall the whole application
If you don't yet have exact figures — an account balance you can't access, an investment value you're waiting on — the form's own instructions say to consider applying separately for an interim order authorising you to obtain that information from the bank or institution, rather than delaying the entire bundle indefinitely.
03
The form's own structure
Seven numbered sections — 1 Your details, 2 Existing powers of attorney, 3 Will, 4 Income and assets, 5 Visits, 6 Other information, 7 Statement of truth — plus a page of guidance notes at the end. Section 4, income and assets, is by far the longest, running across several pages of named tables.
04
Continuation sheets
Running out of room — more than four applicants or proposed deputies, more than five bank accounts, more than two properties — is expected. The form's own guidance says any continuation sheet must carry the applicant's name, the protected person's name and date of birth, and the question number being continued.
COP1A supports the main COP1 application — it is not a form you can file by itself. Get the shape of the bundle right before working through the schedule.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP1A❦
Section02
§22
Section 2
Sections 1–3 — who's applying, existing powers of attorney, and the will
The first three sections establish who's involved and whether this application is even necessary — an existing, registered power of attorney can make deputyship unnecessary altogether.
01
Applicants and proposed deputies (Section 1)
Name and details for up to two applicants and two further proposed deputies, each with a yes/no tick for whether they're being proposed as deputy. Then state the type of deputyship being sought: sole, joint, or joint and several — keep this consistent with the same wording used on COP1 itself.
02
Check for an existing power of attorney first (Section 2)
Say whether the person has ever granted an Enduring or Lasting Power of Attorney, and give the attorneys' names and addresses if so. If a power of attorney exists but isn't registered — or is registered and you're applying for deputyship anyway — the form asks for a free-text explanation. Don't skip this: it's the Court's first check on whether an application is even the right route.
03
The will (Section 3)
Say whether the person has made a will and attach a copy if you can. If you can't get a copy, say who holds one, and whether you want the Court's authority to obtain it. Name the executor(s), if known — this detail resurfaces later, at question 4.4, if the person also has an interest in someone else's estate.
The first three sections establish who's involved and whether this application is even necessary — an existing, registered power of attorney can make deputyship unnecessary altogether.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP1A❦
Section03
§33
Section 3
Section 4 — the income and assets schedule
This is the bulk of the form: named tables for income, benefits, bank accounts, investments, property, possessions, business interests and debts.
Work through it in the order printed — each sub-heading carries its own threshold or rule.
01
Income and benefits (4.1–4.3)
National Insurance number, then two side-by-side tables: earnings, pensions, annuities and investment income in one; state pension, pension credit, attendance allowance, disability living allowance and other benefits in the other. Say whether the person receives their own benefits, or someone else does on their behalf.
02
Bank and building society accounts (4.8)
A five-row table — bank, account number, type of account, names on the account, and balance — with a running total. More than five accounts: continue on a separate sheet rather than compress the detail.
03
Investments (4.10)
Stocks, shares, unit trusts and bonds: approximate value and the fund manager, if there is one, with a total.
04
Business interests (4.14)
If the person owns or has a share in a business: its name and legal status, its approximate value, the person's own share value and role, and a draft of any directions or order you want the Court to make about it.
05
Expenditure (4.15)
The annual cost of care or maintenance, and — if the person is liable to contribute to nursing or care home fees — the weekly amount. Set against the income tables above, this is how the Court sees whether income covers outgoings or capital is being drawn down.
This is the bulk of the form: named tables for income, benefits, bank accounts, investments, property, possessions, business interests and debts.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP1A❦
Section04
§44
Section 4
The question people miss — an interest in someone else's estate (4.4)
This sits under a plain sub-heading, 'Interest in a deceased's estate', and it's easy to read past if you're thinking only about the person's own money.
It matters directly to anyone handling probate for someone else where the incapacitated person is a beneficiary or executor.
01
What it's asking
Does the person have an interest in someone else's estate — as a beneficiary, or named as an executor or administrator? If yes: the deceased's name, the name of the executor or administrator dealing with that estate, the approximate value of the person's interest, and whether a court order is needed for the proposed deputy to obtain a grant to deal with that estate.
02
Why an executor needs to know this exists
If you're an executor administering someone else's estate and one of the beneficiaries lacks capacity, that beneficiary — or their family, on their behalf — may need a Court of Protection deputy appointed before you can pay out or hand over their inheritance. Question 4.4 is where that need gets flagged to the Court inside the COP1A application itself.
03
Cross-check against Section 3
If the executor named at question 3.4 (the person's own will) is different from the executor named here at 4.4 (the OTHER estate the person has an interest in), make sure the form is clear about which is which — the two questions are easy to conflate when you're completing both at once.
This sits under a plain sub-heading, 'Interest in a deceased's estate', and it's easy to read past if you're thinking only about the person's own money.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP1A❦
Section05
§55
Section 5
Property, possessions and debts — the thresholds and the joint-ownership trap
Three rules in this stretch of the form catch people out: two reporting thresholds, and a warning about what deputyship does and doesn't authorise over jointly-owned property.
01
Land and property (4.11)
For up to two properties: address, market value, any outstanding mortgage, and — if not solely owned — the tenure (joint tenants or tenants in common), up to three co-owners, and the person's percentage share. More than two properties: continue on a separate sheet.
02
Deputyship doesn't automatically authorise a sale (4.12)
The form's own boxed 'Important' warning: a deputy appointed over jointly-held property does NOT automatically get legal authority to deal with its sale — including where a co-owner held as tenants in common has since died. If a sale will be needed, ask for that authority explicitly at question 4.12; don't assume the wider deputyship order covers it.
03
Personal possessions over £10,000 (4.13)
List possessions with an overall value over £10,000 — paintings, antiques, collections and similar. Below that figure, the form doesn't ask for the detail; above it, list each item and a total.
04
Debts over £1,000 (4.16)
A creditor table for any outstanding debt over £1,000, with a total. As with 4.13, the threshold is the form's own wording — don't list every small balance, and don't skip a real debt just because the figure feels close to the line.
05
Damages or compensation claims (4.5–4.7)
If a personal injury or criminal injuries compensation claim has been made or is likely, give the solicitor's details, the litigation stage, and the likely or awarded value. If any award exceeds £500,000, the form requires a separate annexed statement covering proposed major capital expenditure, an annual income and care-cost budget, and an outline investment proposal.
Three rules in this stretch of the form catch people out: two reporting thresholds, and a warning about what deputyship does and doesn't authorise over jointly-owned property.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP1A❦
Section06
§66
Section 6
Visits, other information, and the statement of truth
The last three sections are shorter, but Section 6 is where the form explicitly invites the one statutory citation it carries — and Section 7 is where every applicant is bound by what they've said.
01
Visits (Section 5)
A free-text box: who visits the person, and how often. It's a small section, but it's part of how the Court builds a picture of who is actually involved in the person's life, beyond the applicant.
02
Other information — and section 4(6) of the Mental Capacity Act (Section 6)
A free-text box for any background the Court should know, explicitly inviting 'consideration of section 4(6) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005' — the best-interests checklist covering the person's past and present wishes, beliefs and values. Use this to say what you know about what the person themselves would have wanted, not just what's administratively convenient.
03
The statement of truth (Section 7)
Each applicant — or their litigation friend or solicitor — signs, prints their name, dates it, and (if signing professionally) gives their firm name and position. Room for up to two applicants on the form itself; more than that continues on a separate sheet.
04
Court of Protection staff can't advise you
The form's own guidance notes say plainly that Court of Protection staff cannot give legal advice on how to complete it. If a question genuinely doesn't fit the situation, that's a case for professional advice, not a guess.
The last three sections are shorter, but Section 6 is where the form explicitly invites the one statutory citation it carries — and Section 7 is where every applicant is bound by what they've said.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP1A❦
Many people file COP1A themselves — that is what this walkthrough is for. If the situation behind it has stopped being simple — an objection raised, a donor whose capacity is questioned, a Court of Protection application in view — Signum, Valoren’s own specialist desk, can take it on, and we say so plainly: it starts with a free intake, and if you do not need us, we will tell you. Prefer an independent adviser? STEP and the Chartered Institute of Taxation both keep public member directories, and neither pays Valoren a referral fee.
FAQ
COP1A questions, answered.
COP1A — officially Annex A: Supporting information for property and financial affairs applications — is the financial schedule that goes with a Court of Protection application for a property and financial affairs deputy.
It sets out the person's income, benefits, bank accounts, investments, property, possessions and debts, so the Court can see what a deputy would actually be managing.
No. The form's own instructions, repeated in its guidance notes, say this annex must be submitted together with COP1 — and, for most property and financial affairs applications, alongside COP3 (the capacity assessment) and COP4 (the deputy's declaration) too.
The form anticipates this: its own instructions say that if you don't have full financial details, consider asking the Court for an interim order authorising you to obtain that information directly from the bank or institution — rather than guessing, or leaving the whole application waiting until every figure is confirmed.
Not automatically. The form carries a boxed warning at question 4.12: a deputy does not automatically get legal authority to deal with the sale of jointly-held property — including where a co-owner held as tenants in common has since died.
If a sale is needed, ask for that authority explicitly at 4.12; don't assume the general deputyship order covers it.
Only debts over £1,000 (question 4.16) and personal possessions with an overall value over £10,000 — paintings, antiques, collections and similar (question 4.13). Below those figures, the form doesn't ask for the detail.
Question 4.4 asks exactly this — whether the person has an interest in a deceased's estate. If so, give the deceased's name, the executor or administrator's name, the approximate value of the interest, and say whether a court order is needed for the deputy to obtain a grant to deal with that estate.
This is the scenario where an executor handling someone else's estate needs a deputy appointed before they can pay an inheritance out to an incapacitated beneficiary — easy to overlook, but it can stall a distribution if it's missed.
Each applicant — or their litigation friend or solicitor — signs the statement of truth at Section 7: name, signature, date, and firm name or position if signing in a professional capacity. There's room for up to two applicants on the form itself; continue on a separate sheet, marked with the person's name and date of birth, if there are more.
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Where this fits
COP1A is one form. The file behind it is the rest.
COP1A's schedule is almost entirely figures Valoren's records already hold in one place — bank accounts and investments in Financial Accounts, property and mortgage detail in Property Folio, and any will or existing power of attorney in Civil Dossier — rather than a blank-page hunt through statements when the Court needs the number.
For the household where a parent is ageing and an LPA is not yet registered — the planning conversations your family needs to have, in one place. Caring for a Parent — £79 →
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection)·34 fields·No separate fee for COP1A — it rides on the COP1 application fee (£432, plus a £100 assessment fee for a new deputy, and £266 if the Court decides a hearing is needed). See Valoren's COP1 walkthrough for the fee schedule in full.·Valoren doesn't complete or file COP1A on your behalf; the bank, property and benefit detail already held in your records carries straight into the schedule instead of a blank-page start with Valoren
Sent together
This form supports a deputyship application over property and finance — it's submitted alongside COP1, not on its own.