Q: My father died of dementia and there is a dispute about his mental capacities when he signed his will. He was lucid when

A: Whether or not he had 'testamentary capacity' and could sign a will is FAR more complicated than just a diagnosis of dementia. Most people who have dementia have moments when they ARE aware of what is going on and can make rational decisions, and moments when they are completely 'out of it' The purpose of witnesses is that they can attest to the state of mind of the person signing the document -- it does not take a medical doctor to determine if someone meets the (rather low) threshold of 'capable to make a will'. The person directing the signing should have gone through several steps to insure the witnesses could do that. "who are you?' 'who are your kids/spouse' 'do you want this to be your will' (and if there are questions or unusual things, going over those things specifically, like 'you know your son Johnny-boy is not receiving anything under this will, and you want that. correct?') etc.

The standard is rather low. For example, the ONLY times I have refused to do wills for people is when they were so 'out of it' that they couldn't answer questions coherently (people have tried to get grandma to change a will under those circumstances and I haven't!) or on one occasion when a person came in and said his refrigerator told him his adult son was trying to kill him by making him go to the doctor, and he wanted to cut the son out of the will....

IF you believe the testator didn't know what he/she was doing, you should talk with his doctors and the witnesses and a local attorney to determine if you have evidence to show that. It is NOT an easy case to prove!

A: Impossible to say. It will all depend on the testimony introduced at the evidentiary hearing. Dementia by itself won't be enough to invalidate the will but it is a factor. If people close to him, nurses, doctors, friends, acquaintances, testify that he understood what he was doing and had testamentary intent -- and the trier of fact (the judge, most likely) believes it, the will may be admitted to probate and given effect. You will need an attorney, no matter which side of the issue you are on. Good luck to you.

PS: My comments are not offered as legal advice or as to the applicability of any particular law but are offered for information only. My comments are not offered as an invitation to, nor intended to create, nor do they create, an attorney-client relationship.