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One of the estate planning issues we haven’t discussed very much is the issue of “testamentary capacity.” In the context of drafting and executing a will, testamentary capacity is essentially equivalent to capacity in contract formation: testamentary capacity refers to the mental ability of a testator to give valid acceptance of the final terms of a will. If a testator lacks mental ability – say, because of a mental condition such as schizophrenia or other form of psychosis – then the testator cannot actually execute a valid will independently, and so any signed will would be unenforceable on its own. This is similar to a person who attempts to create a valid contractual agreement without possessing the requisite mental capacity, such as someone who suffers from clinical insanity.
In the case of Dougherty v Rubinstein (2007), this issue of testamentary capacity surfaced when a potential beneficiary was aggressively cut out of his father’s will. The potential beneficiary raised the “capacity” argument, hoping to render the will unenforceable on that basis.
Let’s examine this case in detail.
Factual Background
The testator in this case, James Dougherty III, developed a will after suffering a severe stroke and struggling with alcohol addiction problems. After a lengthy hospital stay, the man was diagnosed by two attending physicians as having dementia.
The testator’s son placed the testator in a care facility, against his wishes, after receiving this diagnosis. Because the testator was so strongly opposed to this arrangement, the testator’s sister ultimately helped remove him from this situation and placed him back in his home. Later, the relationship between the testator and his son deteriorated, and eventually the testator accused the son of stealing things from him. Even though the testator’s accusations were not true, the testator still used these allegations as the basis to remove the son as a beneficiary and transfer all estate property to his sister.
When the testator passed away and the will came under scrutiny, the son argued that the testator lacked proper testamentary capacity because of the dementia and the “delusions” of theft. The trial court ruled in favor of the sister, holding that the testator still possessed capacity despite his diagnosis and false ideas regarding theft. The case then went before the appellate division.
Analysis & Ruling
This case was a bit tricky, because technically the testator in this scenario was diagnosed with a mental condition, but the critical point is that the testator’s condition was enough to produce a determination of incapacity. The physicians who assisted the testator diagnosed dementia, but the testator was able to be released, live independently, and managed to have several years of good health prior to passing away. Hence, this sequence of events demonstrated that, whatever his particular mental state, the testator had the ability to live on his own and make intelligent decisions; this was relevant as to the effect of the testator’s decision to remove the son as a beneficiary.
In the end, the court held that the testator did indeed have “delusions” about his son’s behavior, because the son hadn’t actually committed such thefts, but these delusions were not sufficient to render the will unenforceable. Again, this sets a clear precedent in Maryland law on the issue of testamentary capacity: fixed false beliefs, or “delusions,” are not enough to produce a determination of incapacity without additional information about the testator’s mental state. In other words, this alone isn’t enough to overcome the presumption of enforceability when an otherwise validly executed will is brought forward.
Contact the Murphy Law Firm for More Resources
Readers who want to know more about the details of testamentary capacity, challenging a given testator’s mental state in a given situation, the formal requirements for producing a valid and enforceable will in Maryland, or any other related estate planning matter, contact one of the estate planning attorneys at the Murphy Law Firm today by calling 240-219-1187.
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