Mental capacity
What can you do if an elderly or vulnerable person does not have the mental capacity to take decisions for themselves? Or indeed if you need to protect your arrangements against any suggestion of mental incapacity?
If you have concerns that someone in your life is no longer able to take legal decisions for themselves, Withers can offer guidance. We have a huge amount of legal and life experience in mental capacity matters, and have helped to develop the law in this area. We assist individuals, families, trustees, conservators and other professionals in all kinds of cases.
Recently we advised the attorney of an elderly lady who had given away valuable works of art at a time when her capacity was in doubt, and settled an employment case for a client who was suffering severe bouts of depression. We established in court that mental illness had not affected the capacity of one of Singapore’s richest women to make a will, and successfully challenged a woman who had moved in with an elderly and vulnerable couple in California. At present we are acting for the children of a very high-profile individual in the UK who disinherited them while seriously ill.
A good first step is to establish the facts of the matter. If necessary we will call on an extensive network of professional contacts, including medical mental capacity experts, to do this. With this information we will find a solution – whether by agreement, by obtaining a court order or in the last resort through litigation.
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