When someone is diagnosed with dementia it can be an incredibly challenging time – not only for them but also their family and friends.
Approximately 1 in 11 people over the age of 65 have dementia in the UK, with case numbers expected to rise even further as the life expectancy of our population increases.
In light of Dementia Action Week, we’ve put together a small series of articles, providing an overview of how a dementia diagnosis can affect a person’s legal affairs and what we can do to help you plan for the future and protect your loved ones.
Despite its prevalence, the terms Alzheimer’s and dementia are often confused or used interchangeably.
Dementia is a collective term used to describe a number of diseases where patients display similar symptoms. Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disease and a specific type of dementia.
Other common examples of dementia are:
vascular dementia
frontotemporal dementia
alcohol-related dementia (although vascular dementia can also be caused by excessive alcohol abuse).
Those suffering from a type of dementia may find it difficult to carry out everyday tasks, develop problems with their memory, language and judgement as well as a range of other symptoms.
Dementia & mental capacity
Dementia can affect a person’s ability to exercise their own decision making in law. Mental capacity refers to an individual’s ability to understand, communicate, weigh up and use information in order to make decisions about their affairs.
An individual is presumed to have mental capacity to make their own decisions unless it can be proven otherwise. It is common for those suffering from a type of dementia to become easily confused and experience difficulties remembering and using information when they are making decisions.
It is important to understand that a dementia diagnosis does not necessarily mean a person cannot make their own decisions. Mental capacity is assessed in relation to a specific decision, so somebody with dementia may be able to make some decisions but not others, especially in the earlier stages of their illness.
If family or friends disagree with a decision, this does not mean the person with dementia cannot make it if they have mental capacity to do so. Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, a person can make an unwise decision, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they lack mental capacity.
Under the act, a person is unable to make a decision in relation to a particular matter if they can’t:
understand relevant information
retain relevant information
use that information as part of their decision-making process
communicate their decision effectively, whether by talking, using sign language or other means.
Practical steps can be made to help you make your decisions – for example, by using a translator or sign language specialist.
During what can be a distressing time for those involved, you are bound to have a lot of questions. Our experienced and friendly team will be happy to help and support you through the process, so please don’t hestitate to contact us.
Our Legal 500-rated wills, trusts & probate team has the expertise to help you plan for the future and guide you through any difficult challenges that may arise, including those relating to mental capacity.
Disclaimer: All legal information is correct at the time of publication but please be aware that laws may change over time. This article contains general legal information but should not be relied upon as legal advice. Please seek professional legal advice about your specific situation - contact us; we’d be delighted to help.
The residence nil rate band (RNRB) is an additional inheritance tax allowance that can be claimed alongside the usual nil rate band allowance. The RNRB allowance is currently a maximum…
When someone is diagnosed with dementia it can be an incredibly challenging time – not only for them but also their family and friends. Approximately 1 in 11 people over…
When someone is diagnosed with dementia it can be an incredibly challenging time – not only for them but also their family and friends. Approximately 1 in 11 people over…
Our website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through our website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorised as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyse and understand how you use our website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies but it may affect your browsing experience on our website. You can find our cookie policy here.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for our website to function and enable core functionality such as security and accessibility. These cookies do not store any personal information. You can block these cookies by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Cookie
Duration
Description
__cf_bm
30 minutes
This cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
mgref
1 year
This cookie is set by Eventbrite to deliver content tailored to the end user's interests and improve content creation. It is also used for event-booking purposes.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie
Duration
Description
_ga
2 years
The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat
1 minute
This cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites.
_gid
1 day
Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
G
1 year
Cookie used to facilitate the translation into the preferred language of the visitor.
vuid
2 years
Vimeo installs this cookie to collect tracking information by setting a unique ID to embed videos to the website.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.