Assessing mental capacity: key legal considerations

With an aging population and a rise in capacity-related legal disputes, it is crucial for practitioners to confidently assess a client’s mental capacity. This webinar will provide practical guidance on the legal tests for capacity, key assessment principles, and factors that may influence a client’s decision-making abilities. As well as how to navigate fluctuating capacity, mitigate risks, and implement safeguards to protect both clients and practitioners.

Topics covered include:

• Capacity and the Mental Capacity Act 2005
• Test for capacity:
  • Instructing a solicitor
  • Conducting civil litigation
  • Making a lifetime gift
  • Entering into a marriage or civil partnership
  • Making a will
• Assessing capacity
• Influencing factors and conditions:
  • Impact of grief
  • Alcohol and recreational drugs (substance abuse)
  • Dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease
  • Stroke
  • Brain injuries
  • Mental health conditions, such as depression and trauma
  • Other conditions, such as UTI’s
• Fluctuating capacity: temporary, predictable and unpredictable changes
• Capacity and unwise decisions