Test of Incapability in New Statutory Property Guardianship Regulation

In my post last week, I wrote about the new statutory property guardianship legislation and regulation coming into effect on December 1, 2014, under which the Public Guardian and Trustee may be appointed a statutory property guardian for a person who is not capable of managing his or her own financial affairs. I wrote specifically about the procedures for determining whether a certificate of incapability should be issued and the Public Guardian and Trustee appointed in respect of someone who may not be capable of making financial decisions.

One welcome change is the introduction of a test of incapability in the new Statutory Property Guardianship Regulation. It is set out in section 9:

Test of Incapability 

9 (1) An adult is incapable of managing the adult's financial affairs if, in the opinion of a qualified health care provider, any of the following apply:

(a) the adult cannot understand the nature of the adult's financial affairs including the approximate value of the adult's business and property and the obligations owed to the adult's dependants, if any; 

(b) the adult cannot understand the decisions that must be made or actions that must be taken for the reasonable management of the adult's financial affairs; 

(c) the adult cannot understand the risks and benefits of making or failing to make particular decisions, or taking or failing to take particular actions in respect of the adult's financial affairs; 

(d) the adult cannot understand that the information. referred to in this subsection applies to the adult;

(e) the adult cannot demonstrate that hear she is able to implement, or to direct others to implement, the decisions or actions referred to in paragraph (b). 

(2) For the purposes of section 34 of the Act, a qualified health care provider must consider the changes, if any, in the adult's incapability since the previous assessment and the adult's understanding of those changes. 

Although this provision does not directly apply to applications for the appointment of a committee under the Patients Property Act, the above criteria could be applied to an application for an order declaring a person incapable of managing his or her affairs under that Act. A lawyer asking for a physician's opinion on capacity could ask the physician to address those criteria. This may provide more nuanced and clearer evidence to assist the court in making a determination of capacity under the Patients Property Act.