Section 5
Assessing capacity in each area of life
There is no ‘one size fits all’ legal test for whether a person has capacity in any given situation. This is because people differ, decisions differ and laws differ.
Decisions can be divided into the three following areas.
Personal life:
- making and using an enduring guardianship
- personal decisions including accommodation and support services.
• Health:
- making and using an advance care directive
- medical and dental treatment
- other health decisions including non-intrusive
examinations, over the counter medication and alternative therapies.
• Money and property:
- entering into a contract
- making a power of attorney and making and using an enduring power of attorney
- financial decisions
- making a will.
Select the section that relates to the areas of decisionmaking relevant to the situation.
The individual sections on the following pages will provide you with:
- the legal test, and
- a checklist which will assist you to apply it.
The questions you ask the person during an assessment of capacity should reflect the legal test of capacity for that type of decision.
There are some sample questions provided for each test.
These questions aim to assist you in gathering information from the person that will help you to decide if the person has capacity to make the decision in that particular area of life.
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