Capacity Law

Total 144 Posts

The SDA and Incapacity to Manage Personal Care – Additional Commentary on Limitations in Legislation

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Pursuant to Section 45 of the Substitute Decisions Act (SDA),[i] incapacity for personal care is defined as – A person is incapable of personal care if the person is not able to understand information that is relevant to making a decision concerning his or her own health care, nutrition, shelter, clothing, hygiene or safety, or is not able to appreciate the reasonable foreseeable consequences of a decision or lack of….

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Capacity Law, Guardianship, Power of Attorney

The Message is Loud But Not So Clear

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Last week, a Washington Post article caught my eye ‘A Florida man collapsed with a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ tattoo. Doctors didn’t know what to do’. The full article in the New England Journal of Medicine  described doctors in Miami who found themselves caught in what they describe as an usual ethical dilemma.  Reportedly, an unconscious man was brought to the ER with a chest tattoo that read ‘DO NOT RESUSCITATE’; his….

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Capacity Law, Elder Care

The SDA and Incapacity to Manage Personal Care – Another Example of a Limitation In Legislation

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A frequent clinical challenge for doctors caring for seniors in hospitals is assessing decision making capacity and discharge planning. The following question arises; “Doctor, is the patient ‘capable’ to return home?” The problem with this question is the doctor has no authority in determining the answer. As per Section 45 of the Substitute Decisions Act (SDA)[i]; incapacity for personal care is defined as: A person is incapable of personal care….

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Capacity Law, Elder Law, Power of Attorney

Determining Capacity. They Actually Have An App For That!

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I had the pleasure of attending a very interesting presentation on ‘Legal Capacity Assessment Panel Discussion & Technology Demonstration’ that may very well change the face of estate litigation by addressing the question of whether the individual was capable at the time of signing legal documents. I am involved in many situations where there has been a dispute questioning the older person’s capacity at the time of appointing an attorney….

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Capacity Law

Removing an Joint Attorney for Property: A High Evidentiary Threshold

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Mere disagreement among joint attorneys is not enough to have one attorney removed from their role. A court will defer to the choice of attorney(s) made by the guarantor before they became incapable.  A party requires strong and compelling evidence of misconduct or neglect to remove an attorney. In White v. White, two brothers, Raymond and Mitchell, were jointly and severally appointed by their mother as her attorneys for property…..

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Capacity Law, Guardianship

The HCCA and Presumption of Capacity to Consent to Treatment; Principled but Flawed

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Capacity to make treatment decisions in the Health Care Consent Act (HCCA)[i] refers to an intact ability to understand information that is relevant to making a decision to a proposed intervention and equally important the ability to appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of a decision or a lack of decision. In order to be capable, an individual must satisfy both parts of the definition. Informed consent for a proposed treatment….

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Capacity Law, Elder Law
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