Determining Legal and Financial Competency

Attorneys are increasingly asking clinicians to evaluate their clients' (or their relatives') financial and legal capacities, as well as their ability to live independently. These evaluations have both legal and ethical implications because the determination can make the difference between maintaining an individual's right to autonomy and his need for protection. Although determinations regarding capacity can limit or remove one's freedom to make financial and legal decisions, they may be necessary to safeguard patients from being exploited.

17 minute read June 30, 2008 at 11:20 AM
By
Gerald Tramontano
Determining Legal and Financial Competency

An attorney recently called me regarding a client's 92-year-old father, a fairly wealthy man with a moderate dementia from probable Alzheimer's disease.

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