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Abstract
Medical and legal professionals are increasingly involved in probate disputes in which the validity of a will due to a lack of testamentary capacity in older adults is frequently challenged. The legal test for testamentary capacity under common-law jurisdiction was established in the famous case of Banks v Goodfellow (1870). The High Court of Hong Kong recently issued new practice guidance for legal professionals on the preparation of a will for older adults. This paper discusses the dilemmas and competing issues among different parties on this medicolegal interface based on recent literature and local examples. We recommend a risk-based pragmatic framework for legal and medical professionals to minimise potential disputes in testamentary capacity assessment.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Professor Robin Jacoby, Emeritus Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at Oxford University, for his support and expert advice in the preparation of this article.
Ethical standards
Ethical approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Declaration of conflicts of interest
Dr Chi-Leung Lam has declared no conflicts of interest.
Dr Bonnie WM Siu has declared no conflicts of interest.
Mr Victor CK Yau has declared no conflicts of interest.
Notes
1 Martyn Frost, Stephen Lawson and Robin Jacoby, Testamentary Capacity: Law, Practice, and Medicine (Oxford University Press 2015); American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging – American Psychological Association, Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Psychologists (American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging – American Psychological Association 2008) <www.apa.org/pi/aging/programs/assessment/capacity-psychologist-handbook.pdf> accessed 1 June 2019.
2 British Medical Association and the Law Society, Assessment of Mental Capacity: A Practical Guide for Doctors and Lawyers (Law Society 2015) vi–viii and 81–95.
3 WM Regan and SM Gordon, ‘Assessing Testamentary Capacity in Elderly People’ (1997) 90 Southern Medical Journal 13; Thomas G Gutheil, ‘Common Pitfalls in the Evaluation of Testamentary Capacity’ (2007) 35 Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 514.
4 Frost, Lawson and Jacoby (n 1) 29–35.
5 British Medical Association (n 2); Carmelle Peisah, Jenna Macnab and Nick O’Neill, Capacity and Dementia: A Guide for Health Care Professionals in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (AACEPD and the State of NSW 2015).
6 United Nations, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) <https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf> accessed 1 October 2018; British Medical Association (n 2); Peisah, Macnab and O’Neill (n 5).
7 United Nations, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (n 6).
8 Peisah, Macnab and O’Neill (n 5).
9 Law and Technology Centre, University of Hong Kong, Community Legal Information Centre (2019) <https://www.clic.org.hk/en/topics/probate/> accessed 1 October 2019.
10 Yan-Xia Pang and others, ‘Advanced Investigation of Testamentary Capacity of the Mentally Disordered (Chinese)’ (2009) 25 Journal of Forensic Medicine (Fa Yi Xue Za Zhi) 208.
11 Chiu Man Fu v Chiu Chung Kwan Ying [2013], [2012] HCAP 9/2005, [2013] CACV 40/2012; Lee Wai Ho v Fung Kui Chuen [2014], HCAP 21/2011.
12 Chinachem Charitable Foundation Ltd v Chan Chun Chuen [2011], HCAP 8/2007, CACV 62/2010, FAMV 20/2011.
13 The Judiciary, Hong Kong Government SAR, ‘Legal Reference System’ [n.d.] <https://legalref.judiciary.hk/lrs/common/ju/judgment.jsp> accessed 1 October 2019.
14 Banks v Goodfellow [1870], LR 5QB 549, 565.
15 Chiu Man Fu (n 11).
16 Chi-Leung Lam and Helen Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap: Assessing Financial Capacity for the Elderly’ [2015] CME Bulletin: Hong Kong Medical Association; Chi-Leung Lam and Helen Chiu, ‘Assessing Financial Capacity for the Elderly in Hong Kong: A Review and the Way Forward’ (Second International Capacity Conference for the IPA International Congress, Berlin, Germany, October 2015); Chi-Leung Lam, ‘The Era of Mental Capacity Assessment for Financial Affairs for the Older Adults in Hong Kong’ [2016] Hong Kong Psychogeriatric Association Newsletters 1.
17 World Bank Group, Population Indicators (The World Bank Data 2016) <https://databank.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN/1ff4a498/Popular-Indicators> accessed 1 August 2019.
18 Census and Statistics Department, ‘Thematic Report: Ethnic Minorities’ [2012] <https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/data/stat_report/product/B1120062/att/B11200622012XXXXB0100.pdf> accessed 30 March 2021; Census and Statistics Department, ‘Hong Kong Population Projection 2017–2066, Hong Kong SAR’ [2017] <https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp190.jsp?productCode=B1120015> accessed 1 September 2019.
19 Rating and Valuation Department (The Government of Hong Kong SAR), ‘Property Market Statistics’ [n.d.] <https://www.rvd.gov.hk/en/property_market_statistics> accessed 1 September 2019; Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16).
20 The Judiciary (n 13).
21 Choy Po Chun and another v Au Wing Lun [2018], CACV 177/2017, HKCA 210.
22 Chiu Man Fu (n 11).
23 The Judiciary (n 13).
24 Linda CW Lam and others, ‘Prevalence of Very Mild and Mild Dementia in Community-dwelling Older Chinese People in Hong Kong’ (2008) 20 International Psychogeriatrics 135; Ruby Yu and others, ‘Trends in Prevalence and Mortality of Dementia in Elderly Hong Kong Population: Projection, Disease Burden, and Implication for Long-term Care’ [2012] International Journal of Alzheimer Disease 1.
25 Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16).
26 Kelly Purser, Eilis S Magner and Jeanne Madison, ‘A Therapeutic Approach to Assessing Legal Capacity in Australia’ [2015] 38 International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 18.
27 Lam and Chiu, ‘Assessing Financial Capacity’ (n 16); Lam, ‘Era of Mental Capacity Assessment’ (n 16); Chi-Leung Lam, ‘A Practical Guide to Testamentary Capacity Assessment in Will-Making for Older Adults’ [2019] Self Study CME Series No 195 Hong Kong Doctor Union <http://cme.hkdu.org/cmeQuizzes/take/selfStudy/772> accessed 1 October 2019.
28 Choy Po Chun (n 21).
29 American Bar Association (n 1); British Medical Association (n 2).
30 United Nations, General Comments on Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [2014] <https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G14/031/20/PDF/G1403120.pdf?OpenElement> accessed 1 April 2021; British Medical Association (n 2).
31 Choy Po Chun (n 21).
32 Kenward v Adams [1975, November 29], The Times, CLY 3591.
33 Lam, ‘Practical Guide to Testamentary Capacity Assessment’ (n 27); Chi-Leung Lam and Bonnie Siu, ‘A Risk-based Approach to Testamentary Capacity Assessment for Older Adults in Hong Kong’ (poster session presented at the 19th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry, Lisbon, Portugal, August 2019).
34 Frost, Lawson and Jacoby (n 1); Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16).
35 Kenward v Adams (n 32).
36 British Medical Association (n 2); Frost, Lawson and Jacoby (n 1); Re: LHHK [2020], HCMH 121/2019.
37 Cheung Wai Lan v Kwok Chung Chee [2015], [2014] HCAP 9/2009, [2015] CACV 128/2014.
38 Cheung Wai Lan v Kwok Chung Chee.
39 Sutton v Sadler [1857], 3 CBNS 87.
40 Banks (n 14).
41 Cheung Wai Lan v Kwok Chung Chee (n 37).
42 Cheung Wai Lan v Kwok Chung Chee (n 37).
43 Banks (n 14).
44 YL Yu and David Kan, ‘Medicolegal Issues Concerning Testamentary Capacity’ (2009) 15 Hong Kong Medical Journal 399; Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16); Choy Po Chun (n 21).
45 Banks (n 14).
46 American Bar Association (n 1).
47 United Nations, General Comments (n 30).
48 United Nations, General Comments (n 30).
49 C Katona and others, ‘World Psychiatric Association Section of Old Age Psychiatry Consensus Statement on Ethics and Capacity in Older People with Mental Disorders’ (2009) 24 International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 1319.
50 Peisah, Macnab and O’Neill (n 5); Lam and Chiu, ‘Assessing Financial Capacity’ (n 16).
51 Jung-Young Kim and others, ‘A Provincial Population-based Survey on Attitudes Towards Will and Testamentary Capacity of Individuals with Dementia’ (2016) 55 Journal of the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 245.
52 Warren F Gorman, ‘Testamentary Capacity in Alzheimer’s Disease’ (1996) 4 The Elder Law Journal 225; Kelly Purser and Tully Rosenfeld, ‘Assessing Testamentary and Decision-making Capacity: Approaches and Models’ (2015) 23 Journal of Law and Medicine 121.
53 British Medical Association (n 2); Purser, Magner and Madison (n 26); Kenneth I Shulman and others, ‘Contemporaneous Assessment of Testamentary Capacity’ [2009] International Psychogeriatrics 433.
54 American Bar Association (n 1); British Medical Association (n 2); Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16) (emphasis added).
55 National Care Association, Making Decisions: A Guide for People Who Work in Health and Social Care (4th edn, Mental Capacity Implementation Program 2009); British Medical Association (n 2); Frost, Lawson and Jacoby (n 1).
56 Kenneth I Shulman, Carole A Cohen and Ian Hull, ‘Psychiatric Issues in Retrospective Challenges of Testamentary Capacity’ (2005) 20 International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 63.
57 Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16).
58 Lauren B Alloy, Joan Ross Acocella and Richard R Bootzin, Abnormal Psychology: Current Perspectives (6th edn, McGraw-Hill 1993) ch 1; Pamela Champine, ‘Expertise and Instinct in the Assessment of Testamentary Capacity’ (2006) 51 Villanova Law Review 25; Francis X Shen, ‘Law and Neuroscience 2.0’ (2012) 48 Arizona State Law Journal 1043.
59 Banks (n 14).
60 H Berry, ‘A Neuropsychiatric View of Testamentary Capacity’ [1988] Advocate Quarterly 11; American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edn, American Psychiatric Association 2013); Frost, Lawson and Jacoby (n 1); H Bennett, ‘Neurolaw and Banks v Goodfellow (1870): Guidance for the Assessment of Testamentary Capacity Today’ (2016) 35 Australian Journal on Ageing 289.
61 Frost, Lawson and Jacoby (n 1); Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16); Kenneth I Shulman and others, ‘Cognitive Fluctuations and the Lucid Interval in Dementia: Implications for Testamentary Capacity’ (2015) 43 Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 287.
62 Fayaz Roked and Abdul Patel, ‘Which Aspects of Cognitive Function are Best Associated with Testamentary Capacity in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease?’ (2008) 23 International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 552.
63 Shulman and others, ‘Contemporaneous Assessment’ (n 53); Shulman and others, ‘Cognitive Fluctuations’ (n 61).
64 KM Kennedy, ‘Testamentary Capacity: A Practical Guide to Assessment of Ability to Make a Valid Will’ (2012) 19 Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine 191.
65 Karen Sullivan, ‘Neuropsychological Assessment of Mental Capacity’ (2004) 14 Neuropsychology Review 131.
66 Gutheil (n 3); Kennedy (n 64); Yeung Yuen King v Kong Wai Ha [2014], HCAP 19/2010; LexisNexis, ‘Actual Undue Influence’ in Halsbury’s Laws of Hong Kong, Wills, Probate, Administration and Succession (LexisNexis, division of RELX [Greater China] Ltd 2015) 425.
67 C Peisah and others, ‘The Wills of Older People: Risk Factors for Undue Influence’ (2009) 21 International Psychogeriatrics 7; Sherif Soliman, ‘Undue Influence: Untangling the Web (Legal Digest)’ (2013) 41 Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 4; C Peisah and others, ‘Deathbed Wills: Assessing Testamentary Capacity in the Dying Patient’ (2014) 26 International Psychogeriatrics 209; Thomas E Simmons, ‘Testamentary Incapacity, Undue Influence, and Insane Delusions’ (2015) 175 South Dakota Law Review 60.
68 IN Perr, ‘Wills, Testamentary Capacity and Undue Influence’ (1980) IX Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 15; Edwards v Edwards [2007], All ER (D) 46; Peisah and others, ‘The Wills of Older People’ (n 67).
69 Kenneth I Shulman and others, ‘Assessment of Testamentary Capacity and Vulnerability to Undue Influence’ (2007) 164 American Journal of Psychiatry 722; Peisah and others, ‘Deathbed Wills’ (n 67); Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16).
70 Peisah and others, ‘The Wills of Older People’ (n 67); Kennedy (n 64).
71 The Judiciary (n 13); Li Chi Loy v Li Lai Lan Candiac [2008], HCAP 4/2003; Soliman (n 67).
72 Lam, ‘Practical Guide’ (n 27); Lam and Siu (n 33).
73 Ibid.
74 British Medical Association (n 2).
75 Robin Jacoby and Peter Steer, ‘How to Assess Capacity to Make a Will’ (2007) 335 British Medical Journal 155; Howard Smith, ‘A Review of Testamentary Capacity’ (2015) 160 Solicitors Journal 19-04-16; Choy Po Chun (n 21).
76 Lam, ‘Practical Guide’ (n 27); Lam and Siu (n 33); Yu and Kan (n 44).
77 Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16); Lam, ‘Practical Guide’ (n 27); Lam and Siu (n 33).
78 Lam, ‘Practical Guide’ (n 27); Lam and Siu (n 33).
79 Banks (n 14).
80 Jacoby and Steer (n 75); Kennedy (n 64); Smith (n 75).
81 Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16).
82 Jacoby and Steer (n 75).
83 Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16).
84 Peisah and others, ‘Deathbed Wills’ (n 67).
85 Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16); Shulman and others, ‘Cognitive Fluctuations’ (n 61); Kelly Purser and Tully Rosenfeld, ‘Too Ill to Will? Deathbed Wills: Assessing Testamentary Capacity Near the End of Life’ (2016) 45 Age and Ageing 334.
86 Lam, ‘Practical Guide’ (n 27); Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16).
87 Yu and Kan (n 44); Alan Doris, ‘Understanding Testamentary Capacity’ (2012) 20 Medical Protection Society Casebook (New Zealand) 8; Purser and Rosenfeld, ‘Assessing Testamentary and Decision-making Capacity’ (n 52).
88 Lam and Chiu, ‘Mind the Gap’ (n 16); Lam, ‘Era of Mental Capacity’ (n 16); Lam ‘Practical Guide’ (n 27).
89 Banks (n 14).
90 British Medical Association (n 2).