4 conditions that allow seniors with dementia to sign wills

Elderly people suffering from an illness such as dementia can still make decisions regarding their personal affairs, including drawing up a will, if there is proof to show that they know what they are doing.

The courts have ruled that “occasional memory lapses” would not disqualify anyone from making a will because such a condition alone does not mean the person lacks the mental capacity to understand what they are doing.

These four conditions are examined when assessing if an elderly person suffering an illness is capable of signing a will.

1.    Do they understand the nature of the act and its consequences?

2.    Do they know what assets are being distributed?

3.    Do they know who the beneficiaries are and understand what assets are being given to them?

4.    Are they free from an abnormal state of mind, such as suffering from delusions, that might distort feelings or judgments relevant to making the will?

Mother not capable of making new wills

An elderly woman made a will in 2005 that would leave everything to her eldest son.

When her younger son found out about this will years later, he cajoled his mother into signing a new will as well as other documents to give him rights over her property.

This was done in 2017, after the health of the dementia-stricken woman worsened. This son assumed that making a new will to name him as the sole beneficiary would invalidate the original one.

When his elder brother discovered these shenanigans, he quickly got his mother to make yet another will to supersede the second one and so uphold his entitlement to her assets, which comprised one of the family’s three houses.

In all, both brothers ended up taking their mother to the doctors six times to assure themselves that she was fit to sign the documents.

The brothers’ antics took place over a six-month period, despite one of the doctors stating plainly that their mother probably did not know what she was doing.

The elderly woman died in 2019 and the brothers went to court armed with their respective wills to battle for her assets.

As it turned out, all their efforts to get the extra wills done came to nought because the second and third wills were thrown out by a district court in 2024.

The judge found the two wills the brothers had got their mother to sign in 2017 were not valid because she probably did not have the mental capacity to sign the documents, as diagnosed by the doctors then.

As a result, the judge upheld the original will made in 2005 only because “it was the last will standing” and no one in the family had challenged it. This decreed that the eldest son had the right to his late mother’s estate.

In upholding the decision, the High Court viewed the two brothers’ conduct poorly, noting that this was a case where “an entitled eldest son and an entitled favourite son tried to outmanoeuvre each other” to get their hands on their mother’s assets.

What you should do

Many people have the wrong idea that wills should be written only when you are old and unwell but the reality is that none of us knows when our time will be up. So you should always have a will done early to ensure that your assets go to your intended beneficiaries.

It is paramount for parents with young children to do such planning because the kids could be in limbo over guardianship disputes if something unexpected happens to both parents.

Most certainly, you should never wait until the very last minute to get a will done just because you think you are still healthy.

If you get your affairs settled early, such as during your prime, there is little chance for anyone to later claim that you were off your rocker when you made your will.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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