WEBINAR: Decisional Capacity: What is it and why is it important to understand

Speakers:

Christine Vanderschoot, Principal at Vanderschoot Family Law PC
Dr. Venera C. Bruto, Ph.D., C. Psych.- Neuropsychologist & Designated Capacity Assessor

Program Description:

Whether you are a Judge, a mediator/arbitrator, lawyer working in family law or you are a social worker, psychologist or other mental health professional providing clinical service to adults involved in family matters, a client’s decisional capacity will impact your work.

Our panel will:

1. Provide a brief overview of the types of decisional capacity – e.g.:
   1. capacity to make decisions about property
   2. capacity to name an attorney for property
   3. capacity to retain & instruct counsel
   4. capacity to marry / divorce
   5. capacity to consent to treatment
2. Describe how different types of decisional capacity can be relevant to legal and mental health practitioners working with adults involved in family matters
3. Describe how psychiatric illness & cognitive impairment relate to capacity / incapacity
4. Describe key issues in understanding decisional capacity
   1. If my client is incapable of naming an attorney for property – is he/she therefore incapable of instructing counsel?
   2. Is capacity time-specific
   3. Is capacity assessment a test?
   4. Are all incapacities created equal – different thresholds / legal tests
5. Strategic insight on safeguarding clients’ interests from a capacity standpoint
   1. What to look for – Common triggers / reasons to query decisional capacity
   2. What to do – how capacity issues may affect your family law matter
   3. Case examples illustrating capacity in a family law context

Provincially regulated: In Ontario, the PGT and Substitute Decisions Act, The Mental Health Act, The Health Care Consent Act

Lawyers’ liability and Rules of Professional Conduct and Best Practices

Approved for 1 hour CPD