Testamentary Capacity: A Clinical Framework
摘要
With the increase in aging populations in India, clinicians and psychiatrists (handling geriatric patients) may be asked to offer a clinical opinion on testamentary capacity (TC), that is, the mental capacity to make a will. This chapter reviews the clinical and psychiatric criteria for determining testamentary capacity (TC) from an Indian perspective. The review has a purely clinical perspective. The few basic terms related to TC are discussed and the clinical interview is elaborated in detail, along with a few requisites for evaluation. There is a need for a proper semi-structured interview that includes standardized criteria for the legal test for TC, supplemented by a proper clinical evaluation when assessing such patients.