According to the U.S. Census there will be 57.8 million baby boomers living in the United States by 2030 — all of whom will be over the age of 66. The greatest wealth transfer in U.S history will take place as this generation begins to pass on its assets. Attorneys are in a unique position to protect their clients’ bequests through preparing and making changes to estate plans. Unfortunately, after 60 years of age, the prevalence of dementia starts to double every five years, affecting 30 to 45 percent of people over 85. People establishing estate plans may find their actions questioned if they appear to lack capacity or appear to be making unfair or arbitrary decisions. Pre-emptively establishing evidence of clients’ capacity when such estate planning decisions are made is critical when acts or documents may be challenged after the clients can no longer speak on their own behalf because their condition has drastically deteriorated or they are no longer alive. A neuropsychological evaluation serves as an effective tool in establishing this evidence and, thereby, protecting an attorney from claims of malpractice and elder abuse.
What Is a Neuropsychological Evaluation?
A neuropsychological evaluation determines to what degree an individual is capable of planning, organizing and carrying out actions in his own rational self-interest and allows for a full profile of the individual’s cognitive capacity. The cost of such an evaluation ranges from approximately $1,500 to $10,000 depending on such factors as geographic location, the condition of the person being evaluated, and the specific activity for which capacity is being determined. While the testing, at a minimum, can take four to six hours, scoring and generating the report, which is often 20 to 30 pages long, can take several more days to complete. This cost, while not insignificant, is worthwhile when compared to the financial and emotional costs of later having to litigate over the administration of a potentially multimillion-dollar estate, as well as the cost to the practitioner of leaving himself open to accusations of malpractice.
Assessing Capacity: Duty of the Practitioner
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