Making a Financial Gift Mental Capacity Assessment

1. At various stages in our lives, we want to ensure that our loved ones are financially stable and this may involve gifting them some money.  This can sometimes be contentious in nature because gifting a large sum of money to one person might affect the beneficiaries of a will, for example.  Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that the person making the gift has the mental capacity to do so.

We are instructed by individuals, solicitors and local authorities who require robust, high quality Mental Capacity Assessments.  As consultant Social Workers, we are well placed to complete Mental Capacity Assessments for you concerning a person’s ability to make a financial gift.  We have significant amount of experience as practitioners and have completed hundreds of Mental Capacity Assessments since 2009.  In addition, we are qualified Expert Witnesses and instructed to complete Mental Capacity Assessments ahead of legal proceedings.

How is it decided if a person lacks capacity?

Unlike some other Mental Capacity Assessments, the test to determine whether a person has capacity to make a financial gift is not the test within the Mental Capacity Act.  The test to determine whether a person has the mental capacity to make a financial gift is contained within case law from 1978.  As practitioners, we keep up to date with any changes in case law and any changes there may be in the test for capacity to make a financial gift.  That way, you can always be assured of a thorough assessment that uses the correct test.

How long will the assessment take?

Once instructed, we aim to complete my Mental Capacity Assessments within 14 days with the actual assessment visit usually lasting between 1-2 hours.  If, however you require an assessment completed urgently, please let us know and we will do everything we can to meet your specific timescales.

What happens if a person is assessed as lacking capacity?

If the outcome of the assessment is that the person lacks the mental capacity to make the decision, someone might be appointed to manage some, or all the person’s finances.  It may be a consideration whether the person wishes to grant a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) to a family member or friend to make financial decisions on their behalf.  Just because a person lacks capacity to make a financial gift, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they lack capacity to appoint a LPA.

We can also be instructed to complete a LPA Mental Capacity Assessment or act as a certificate provider for a LPA application so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you wish to discuss this further.