Last week, Audrey Miller took the initiative to blog about ‘Ralph the Programme Guy’ and reflected on the lesson learned from his ‘eccentric’ life and sad, lonely death. I hope that the blogosphere will forgive my indulgence in following up on an issue that is only indirectly related to testamentary capacity….

A recent judgment from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Moore v Getahun, 2014 ONSC 237) has opined on the long-time practice whereby experts submit a draft report to counsel for review.  The court referenced Rule 53.03 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which is designed to ensure that the…

The Stratford Festival has included ‘King Lear’ among this year’s performances.  ‘Lear’, of course, is the poster boy for older adults who use poor judgment in determining how and when to distribute their assets to their children.  The opening of King Lear reveals the King’s intent to divest his kingdom…

A Canadian contribution to the commonly used cognitive screening instruments is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), published by Nasreddine et al in 2005.  Unlike the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) or the clock-drawing test (CDT), the MoCA is designed to detect more subtle impairments of cognition, known clinically as Mild Cognitive…

The capacity to execute a Will, Power of Attorney (POA), manage Property or Personal Care or marry are cognitive tasks determined by an admixture of legal, statutory and clinical guidelines and factors. Hence, the need for a truly collaborative approach to their assessment and legal determination. In the case of testamentary…

I am very pleased to join the Allaboutestates blog to add a perspective on the role of the physician in estate matters. I recall vividly the first time I was asked in court: “Dr. Shulman, in your opinion did Mr. X have testamentary capacity at the time he executed his…