Is your Aging Loved One Competent?

Families may not be sure if their loved one should be making major decisions independently. Where do families draw the line? When does the complete role reversal take place?

The majority of determinations of capacity are probably made outside of the courtroom, by clinicians, attorneys, adult protective service workers, and other professional groups working with the aging population. Most situations of capacity/competence are managed without any formal determination of incapacity or appointment of guardianship. For example, a caregiver/ family member to an adult with dementia may simply assume responsibility for bill paying and investments,or strategically disallow driving. Thus families are not seeking court authority unless situations cannot be managed through less restrictive alternatives.

Ultimately competence is a legal issue. The law dictionary describes it as: In wills, trusts and contracts, sufficiently mentally able to understand and execute a document. To be competent to make a will a person must understand what a will is, what he/she owns (although forgetting a few items among many does not show incompetency), and who are relatives who would normally inherit ("the natural objects of his/her bounty") such as children and spouse (although forgetting a child in a will is not automatic proof of lack of competency, since it may be intentional or the child has been long gone).

The elder may have had POA- or Power of Attorney paperwork put into place in prior years. In this case the person listed as POA would then take over the role of decision maker. If families begin to question their loved ones ability to make decisions - professionals within the doctors office and senior community are able to administer basic tests to clarify competence.

Families can assess some features at home. If no family member will ride in the car to "test" their loved one- it may be time to seriously consider intervention. Ask your loved one dates of birth for him/her self and children. Ask them to recall their current phone number. * Many times families have begun to answer for their loved one without realizing they were "covering" for the memory loss. Families may want to ask questions such as- What steps do you take if there is a fire/ tornado/storm? If your aging relative does not know some of these answers they should not be making major life decisions alone.

Review the MMSE test- it is a 30 point test given by MD's and therapists; and is quite common as a standard for memory screenings. As a general rule scores below 24 are considered to be mild impairment; and below 16 is not generally competent.