When a family member or loved one receives a diagnosis of dementia, it invariably leads to questions about legal matters.
In particular, wondering if a loved one with dementia is still able to legally sign important documents like a last will and testament or power of attorney papers comes to mind.
The answer is a little complex and depends on several facts.
Fundamental Factors in Assessing Capacity to Sign Legal Documents
Dementia is a progressive condition affecting memory, cognition, and decision-making capacity over time.
Type and Stage of Dementia
The nature of dementia varies. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias involve memory loss and difficulty concentrating. Other types, like Lewy Body dementia, also include hallucinations. The stage and speed of progression also differ between dementia types. There may be capacity early on, while later stages almost always affect comprehension and judgment.
Assessing Mental Capacity
The law recognizes that capacity is not a black-and-white matter that disappears when doctors diagnose dementia. However, cognitive assessments by medical and legal experts can determine current capabilities and ability to understand documents. Even as abilities decline, there may be instances, like brief periods of clarity, where understanding what one is signing aligns with previous competent intent. Yet, in the later stage, dementia capacity is almost always too far diminished.
Intent of Legal Documents
The type of document matters because some represent long-term decisions with assets or healthcare preferences, while others address more immediate needs. Last will and testaments distribute assets only after one passes, so temporary clarity may reasonably align with true testamentary intent regarding objects of one’s bounty. On the other hand, power of attorney documents giving others authority over significant assets deserve clear consent.
State Laws Regarding Legal Capacity
Minnesota statutes define the standards and procedures for legal competency evaluation for signing documents amidst dementia or other cognitive conditions.
Some rules rely more on doctors’ input, while others weigh heavily on legal expertise. The rigor and precise definitions vary regarding the capacity to sign contracts, wills, trusts, real estate documents, marriage dissolution, and other legal matters.
State regulations also enable favorable capacity determinations tailored to specific recent decisions that align with past wishes rather than just broad restrictions. Your Minnesota estate planning attorney can understand how statutes apply to your situation.
Consulting With Legal Experts For Proper Document Execution
An experienced estate planning attorney can advise whether your loved one with dementia has the legal capacity to execute documents based on all factors.
Legal counsel can also help you with upholding consent or exploring alternatives like revoking prior documents or obtaining guardianship when dementia diminishes a loved one’s capacity.
Rather than presume generalities about dementia when resolving legal matters, your estate planning attorney can personally assess individuals as dementia progresses and capacity changes.
Mental Capacity Is Key When Signing
The central legal issue around signing any document is whether the executor can understand what he or she is consenting to. For intent to be valid, the person must also comprehend the purpose and effects of the documents they are signing at that time.
Simply put, as dementia progresses, inevitable impacts on comprehension, reasoning, and judgment may or may not diminish the ability of signers’ to establish an informed consent that aligns with their original intent.
Cognitive Tests for Capacity
Estate planning lawyers apply diverse psychiatric and neurocognitive tests to assess memory, reasoning, attention, and judgment when determining their clients’ capacity.
Test scores help estimate overall ability, though just because a person receives a low score does not necessarily negate capacity. Estate planning attorneys know when to solicit additional medical input or when their clients are experiencing moments of temporary clarity.
Guardianship After Capacity Diminishes
When assessments show understanding is too compromised to sign informed documents, then obtaining legal guardianship may be appropriate. Guardians hold the legal authority to manage a person’s medical, personal, financial, and legal affairs after the courts appoint them.
Still, ethics requires narrowly restricting rights only as much as is truly needed. Guardians should, therefore, encourage decision-making from people with diminished capacity when reasonable.
An experienced elder law attorney can secure court-appointed guardianship when needed, advise on minor restrictions, guide guardians, or challenge fiduciaries who overreach their duties.
Type of Document Matters for Capacity
Certain legal documents involve making decisions with more immediate impacts, while other documents involve choices that have consequences in the distant future. Therefore, the level of comprehension and capacity required to sign these documents varies.
Last Will and Testament
A properly signed will allows a person to designate how the courts should distribute their possessions and assets after they pass away. Even if a person’s mental capacity fluctuates or declines somewhat after signing their will, it still may reasonably reflect their wishes for their legacy. As long as evidence shows that the person understood the contents and consequences of their will when they signed it, lapses in their cognition later on do not necessarily invalidate the testamentary document. An experienced estate planning attorney can evaluate whether changes in cognition may impact the validity of a signed will over time.
Power of Attorney
Power of attorney documents name someone to make legal and financial decisions on your behalf if you cannot do so yourself. Signing these documents requires clearly understanding who you select as your agent and what powers you grant them. Because power of attorney gives substantial decision-making authority to someone else, the bar for assessing the mental capacity to sign is high. An experienced estate planning attorney can help determine if the person granting power of attorney exhibits the capacity to thoughtfully appoint someone they trust to represent their financial and healthcare interests if needed.
Advance Healthcare Directives
Advance healthcare directives like living wills and medical power of attorney documents allow people to state their wishes concerning medical care and end-of-life decisions. These legally name a person to make medical choices on their behalf if they become incapacitated. Legal counsel knows how to properly evaluate whether someone with diminished capacity can thoughtfully sign such advance directives. This understanding includes consulting medical experts to assess the person’s clarity and judgment regarding the specific medical decisions under consideration.
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Seek Personalized Legal Guidance on Dementia Capacity
An experienced elder law attorney can provide tailored legal advice and advance planning for your family’s unique situation. They can help thoughtfully determine if your loved one can sign new documents or if obtaining guardianship is necessary. Their guidance can help you best support your loved one with dementia during the progression of their illness.
For personalized legal expertise regarding dementia capacity questions, contact the knowledgeable elder law attorneys at Safe Harbor Estate Law. Their estate planning attorneys serve families in Minnesota and the surrounding area. Schedule an initial consultation with the team today to discuss your legal needs and options.
