Social services came yesterday to test my friends mental capacity but all they did was spend ten minutes asking him if he looks after himself to which he replied he does, he said he showers daily when he goes weeks without. He kept losing his temper and repeatedly told them he just wants to be left alone and not to believe anything I said! He kept saying he does not want or need help, that he can just wants everyone to go away and leave him be.
They then told me that he has got mental capacity as he knows what he wants!
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The bona fide overarching test can only be done by a specialist in the field of geriatric mental awareness - usually a consultant and quite often a senior consultant. In a court of law this would override any other claim.
Then there is the test that a lawyer can do to determine that the person concerned is sufficiently aware of the impact of the decisions to make or change a will. HOWEVER should they in their infinite wisdom deci to rewrite a will in a way that an inheritance was switched from familial to the local donkey sanctuary then you can guarantee that there would be a counterclaim in the courts and at this point the dates of assessment would be paramount
Then there is the assessment that a social worker does. This is not a cognitive awareness test but can determine if someone can hold a coherent conversation and may include one or two little tests to avoid any doubt that may emerge.
This for me is the risky one because of show timing which my mother 5 years after diagnosis can do brilliantly still. However they did detect traits and did several tests. She failed miserably despite amazing guess work and the way she tried to get round the question was very clever. She would say next month or last month rather than the actual name of the month. She couldn't remember the date which was actually the birthday of a relative, she couldn't count backwards in stages but counted forward which she could do but I noticed she was using her fingers....my mum used to be a bank manager - she never NEEDED TO USE HER FINGERS, trust me I had my knuckles rapped often enough when adding as an infant.
So there we are various tests designed to meet various circumstances. If you don't like the outcome by a social worker and or a lawyer you can ask for a specialist to test the person but if the GP doesn't agree it would serve a purpose you will be paying to go privately and that will cost (remember in the UK necessary healthcare is free)
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M88
i may need somebodys help some day but living and dying on my own terms is a right that no one has to give me .
hospice implied once that i might have to make decisions for my mothers well being . mom was out of her mind and still smarter than the hospice people all combined . she remained in control of her household till she died . my job was to battle away the opposition .
Cwillie, my daughter is picking me and the cats up tomorrow evening.
Kaydi, have you gotten yourself away to your daughter's?
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