Supporting capacity to make a Will

I am looking for resources to support a man with a learning disability who may or may not have capacity to make a Will. Can anyone signpost me to any useful resources or advice? Many thanks, Jodie

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Hi phdcam

Mencap UK have some good resources you can download around Wills & capacity.

Marie

Hi Jodie

That’s a great great question. I notice that it is somewhat difficult to find any definitive guides explicitly written for people with learning disabilities which outline the process around writing a will, the issues around capacity in terms of writing a will, and what happens if you haven’t got capacity.

In terms of the general background to understand the process of making wills, these three websites give a good overview:

As Marie has pointed out, Mencap has some resources around writing wills. Most are for parents and carers. Their Accessible Guide to Making A Will has some helpful guidance notes attached to it for people supporting people with learning disabilities who may wish to make a will.

My Life, My Choice, a self-advocacy group based in Oxford, has published an easy to read guide to making a will titled Making Your Will: A Guide.

Inclusion Ireland has produced An Easy to Read Guide to Making a Will. Interestingly, they’ve also developed a scheme through which solicitors can support people with learning disabilities to write their wills on a pro bono basis. All the solicitors who take part have received training on disability and communication.

In terms of what happens when someone does not have the capacity to make their own will, Mitra Mann, a solicitor, has written an article ‘What are statutory wills, and when are they necessary?’ which gives an excellent overview of the role of the court of protection and the circumstances in which a statutory will may be deemed necessary. You can find the official Court of Protection guidance on Statutory Wills here.

Hi Neil

Thank you for these very helpful resources.

I feel in a much better position now to support my friend.

Best wishes,
Jodie

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