WHAT ARE THE TOP MYTHS ABOUT DEMENTIA, WILLS AND TRUSTS?
1. It is a myth that you cannot make a will once you have been diagnosed with dementia.
2. It is a myth that your will or trust is invalid, if you have executed them after dementia was diagnosed.
3. It is a myth that you cannot change your will or trust after a dementia diagnosis.
4. It is even a myth that a person cannot create a new will or trust, after he or she is conserved by a court order.
In California, a person is presumed to have capacity to execute documents, until he or she is found to lack capacity, either by a court or by another method allowed in a particular instrument.
Once there has been a diagnosis of dementia, a person who wants to create a will, or trust, or changes to those documents may do so. We often used experts to document the ability of the person to make testamentary and contractual decisions. That just requires a doctor's declaration.
After a person has been conserved and has been found to lack capacity, we can prepare wills or trusts by applying to the Court for a Substituted Judgment Petition, which asks the Court for permission to have the Conservator step into the shoes of the Conservatee and create the will or trust or changes to the estate plan.
Mina Sirkin is a Board Certified Specialist Attorney in California. Conservatorship Attorney Los Angeles, or call 818.340,4479 about Los Angeles Conservatorships. We have helped many families who struggle with legal aspects of dementia. We can help you too.
In Glendale, visit us at Glendale Conservatorships Attorneys.