What do I do if a family member is incapable of taking care of themselves?
Mental incapacity is when someone cannot understand relevant information or cannot appreciate what may happen as a result of decisions they make—or do not make—about their finances, health or personal care.
Planning ahead
How do I plan ahead in case I were to become unable to take care of myself and my property? Learn more about choosing a substitute decision-maker for yourself through a Power of Attorney and “living will”.
What do I do if I think someone is incapable of taking care of themselves?
Learn how to:
- request an assessment of someone’s capacity
- find someone to perform an assessment
- find and fill out assessment forms
- make a referral to the OPGT in cases of serious risk
What happens when someone is deemed incapable?Learn more about how substitute health care and financial decisions are made, a guide to the Substitute Decisions Act, the role of the Public Guardian as decision-maker.
Guardianship
In the absence of a continuing Power of Attorney for property, a Guardian of Property must be assigned to make decisions on behalf of the incapable person. Learn more about:
- what it means to be a guardian
- how to become a guardian
- what to do if you are concerned about how a guardian is performing
How does the law define mental incapacity?
I’m concerned about someone’s well-being – what do I do?
What happens when someone is deemed incapable?
What is a capacity assessor?
- A capacity assessor is someone who determines, in certain circumstances, whether a person is mentally incapable of making decisions.