Assessment may be contemporaneous, performed near the time of execution, or retrospective, reconstructing capacity from records after the fact. Standards differ by the act, with testamentary capacity lower than contractual.
Retrospective assessment carries substantial limitations.
Alternative Names:
Estate Capacity Evaluation|Contemporaneous Capacity Assessment
Why it Matters?
Contemporaneous assessment at execution is the strongest protection against a later contest, and a brief evaluation documented by a physician on the signing date defeats most retrospective challenges regardless of the testator's later decline. Retrospective opinions constructed from medical records years afterward are inherently weaker and vulnerable to challenge on the ground that the expert never examined the testator.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the strongest protection against a contest?
Why are retrospective opinions weaker?
