Changing will of a person with dementia
Comments
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Yorkshireman99 wrote: »I don't think you should get her to sign anything unlessthere is clear proof that she has capacity. What has your brother done with the will? Is he likely to destroy it?
Dad told me before he died to take the wills and keep them in my safe. Without a doubt brother would have destroyed them after reading them and finding they weren't entirely in his favour. Wills I have shown him have been photocopys.0 -
Legal capacity means that the person has sufficient mental capability to understand what they are doing and the consequences of thie actions. With a will they need to fully understand what the document is and fully understand the consquences of them signing it. The problem is that dememntia is not a static condition and people may have periods of time when they do fully understaand what they are doing and not have a clue at other times. There is no one size fits all solution but professionals will probably tend to err on the cautious side by only certifying "capacity" if they are really sure.Can you explain that some more?0 -
So it won't be helpful to see if mum would sign a letter?0
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I don't see any point. It would have no legal force. The important thing is to get possession of her existing will and if she does have capacity see if she wants a new one but don't pressure her.DesperateScousewife wrote: »So it won't be helpful to see if mum would sign a letter?0 -
Yorkshireman99 wrote: »Legal capacity means that the person has sufficient mental capability to understand what they are doing and the consequences of thie actions. With a will they need to fully understand what the document is and fully understand the consquences of them signing it. The problem is that dememntia is not a static condition and people may have periods of time when they do fully understaand what they are doing and not have a clue at other times. There is no one size fits all solution but professionals will probably tend to err on the cautious side by only certifying "capacity" if they are really sure.
This sounds like mum. She crafty enough to tell Psych nurse/ social workers what she thinks they want to hear (alaways same thing) and sit there all smiles, but next day be totally clueless.0 -
Yorkshireman99 wrote: »I don't see any point. It would have no legal force. The important thing is to get possession of her existing will and if she does have capacity see if she wants a new one but don't pressure her.
I have the original so I will show her it. Actually my daughter will show her it and ask what she wants to do.
It's knowing if shes considered to have the capacity though. It's all a big stress!0 -
DesperateScousewife wrote: »I have the original so I will show her it. Actually my daughter will show her it and ask what she wants to do.
It's knowing if shes considered to have the capacity though. It's all a big stress!
I would not do this in your position. You are quite happy with the present will. Leave your brother to try to show that she has capacity, which is going to be an uphill task if her psychiatrist won't provide a report.No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?0 -
DesperateScousewife wrote: »My brother has got solicitor to write to my mums psychiatrist. With a letter attached from my mum giving her permission to be assesed to sign 'her will'.
When I say my brother. The psychiatrists secretary said there was no name on the solicitors letter about who instructed them. After informing them mum already had a will she spoke to the psychiatrist.
She then called me back and said psychiatrist wouldn't do the assessment as planned as he was unaware of all the facts and he was writing back to the solicitor.
This does all sound very dubious.
If your mother wanted to change her will, wouldn't she have discussed it with you as her main carer?
In this situation I think I would step back and let things settle.
If your mother asks about her will, show her a photocopy. Don't risk the original - if your brother can destroy it and claim that she did it, her estate will have to be divided according to the intestacy rules.0 -
I had all this with my Mum . She lived with me for 5 years until her dementia got so advanced I had to get her placed into residential care. One of my brothers was going up to borrow money from her which was highlighted to me by the care manager. After a lot of hassle I managed to get Court of Protection as her dementia was too advanced for Power of Attorney. She was assessed as not to have mental capacity so I was appointed her deputy for her financial and health care decisions.
Please don't leave it too late to think about residential care or contacting court of protection. I know you say the carers are doing a good job but your Mums welfare is paramount, and I found in my case my brother getting money was more important than him taking advantage of her state of mind.
Luckily we managed to get her will sorted when she moved in with me but she never had property or anything so less complicated and she wanted her money to be divided equally between me and my 3 brothers.0 -
Apologies if I've missed this, but you say that your mother doesn't have a solicitor (yet) but one of the other posters here has suggested that the solicitor who's written to your mum's psychiatrist is her solicitor. (Tried to quote the relevant posts but can't get it to work today).
Can you find out who the solicitor is who has written? If you've got a LPA I don't see why the psychiatrist wouldn't tell you. I would then ask the solicitor whom they are acting for. If you've got a LPA for your mum then they should have no objection about informing you if she is the client - or at least that's what I would argue. If they can't tell you who the client is then it may be your brother.
Two things I don't understand: first, when would your mum ever have the opportunity to instruct a solicitor? Second, if your brother is the solicitor's client what business does he have writing to your mum's psychiatrist (unless possibly connected with the LPA)?
(PS: just as an aside re the cancelling care business. Before my MiL went into residential care my wife would also cancel her carers if she visited her. But she did make sure she was given meds, fed and bathed etc.)0
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