Most adults have the legal authority to create a will and other estate planning documents. They can provide instructions about the distribution of their property after their death or empower people they trust to assist them in an emergency scenario.
However, not every adult retains the legal capability to sign a binding contract or draft important documents. Medical challenges, ranging from mental health issues and brain injuries to age-related decline and dementia, can influence an individual’s ability to create legally enforceable estate planning documents.
In cases where medical challenges may have undermined a person’s capacity, concerned parties may have grounds to contest a will or challenge the validity of other estate planning paperwork.
When do people lose testamentary capacity?
There is no specific age after which an adult can no longer create or update an estate plan. Instead, testamentary capacity depends on the ability of an adult to understand the documents they create.
Numerous medical conditions can negatively influence testamentary capacity. Traumatic injuries and age-related medical challenges are leading causes of will contests based on a lack of capacity. Those challenging the validity of documents must prove in court that an individual could no longer understand the documents, catalog their property or name their beneficiaries without assistance.
A diagnosis alone may not be adequate proof that a person lacked capacity at the time that they drafted estate planning paperwork. Alzheimer’s disease, for example, takes years to present the worst symptoms in most cases.
Reviewing estate planning documents, the date of their creation and details about a testator’s health with a skilled legal team can help people determine if they can initiate probate litigation. Filing a lawsuit in probate court can lead to the courts setting aside questionable estate planning documents.
