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Contemporaneous assessment of testamentary capacity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

Kenneth I. Shulman ,
Carmelle Peisah ,
Robin Jacoby ,
Jeremia Heinik  and
Sanford Finkel
Kenneth I. Shulman*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Carmelle Peisah
Affiliation:
Academic Department for Old Age Psychiatry, Prince of Wales Hospital, and University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Robin Jacoby
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Section of Old Age Psychiatry, University of Oxford, The Warneford Hospital, Oxford, U.K.
Jeremia Heinik
Affiliation:
Margoletz Psychogeriatric Center, Ichilov Hospital, Tel Aviv, and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Sanford Finkel
Affiliation:
University of Chicago Medical School, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. K. I. Shulman, Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5, Canada. Phone: +1 416 480 4079; Fax: +1 416 480 6022. Email: ken.shulman@sunnybrook.ca.
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Abstract

Background: Challenges to wills on the basis of lack of testamentary capacity and/or undue influence are likely to increase over the next generation. Since contemporaneous assessment of testamentary capacity can be a powerful influence on the outcome of such challenges, there will be an associated increase in requests for expert assessment of testamentary capacity. There is a need to provide such potential experts with the knowledge and guidelines necessary to conduct assessments that will be helpful to the judicial system.

Methods: A subcommittee of the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) task force on “Testamentary Capacity and Undue Influence” was formed to establish guidelines for contemporaneous assessment of testamentary capacity.

Results: The task-specific criteria for testamentary capacity as outlined by Lord Chief Justice Cockburn in the well-known Banks v. Goodfellow case are described. Additional issues are identified for probing and documentation. This is designed to determine whether the testator can formulate a coherent, rational testamentary plan that connects his/her beliefs, values and relationships with the proposed disposition of assets. Rules of engagement by the expert assessor are defined as well as an approach to the clinical examination for testamentary capacity resulting in a clear and relevant report.

Conclusion: Guidelines for experts who are asked to provide a contemporaneous opinion on testamentary capacity should help to inform disputes resulting from challenges to wills. A consistent clinical approach will help the courts to make their determinations.

Keywords

will challengesexpert assessment
Type
Review Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , June 2009 , pp. 433 - 439
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2009

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