Stephen Raffle, MD, is a Board certified forensic and clinical psychiatrist based in Kentfield, CA. In his practice, Stephen Raffle, MD, has been involved in many civil cases where the issue at hand was a testator’s testamentary capacity.
Testamentary capacity involves an individual’s mental competency to execute a legal document; wills, trusts, contracts and divorce, marriage and plea agreements are several such circumstances where “capacity” may be an issue. Contracts are legally binding documents between two or more people for the performance of certain services. A breach of contract brings forth legal consequences. A “contract of trust” is similar in that a trustor transfers property to a trustee for the benefit of beneficiaries. There is the legitimate expectation that the trustee will manage the property in good faith for the beneficiary. Therefore, trustors and trustees need to understand not only the complex nature of their obligations in a trust relationship but also the legal consequences. Neither of these is implied in executing a will. Because a will contains the individual’s last wish as to how his or her property will be distributed among beneficiaries after death, it is a requirement that s/he has the testamentary capacity to execute such a legal document. A will is not a contract for the performance of services. It simply distributes a testator’s property upon death. There is no duty of performance owed to another, hence no risk of an adversarial relationship. Therefore, testamentary capacity for executing a will has a lower threshold than the mental competency required to competently execute a contract, such as a trust.
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AuthorExperienced Kentfield, CA, Psychiatrist Stephen Raffle, MD. Archives
June 2019
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