Re M (vulnerable adult) (testamentary capacity) [2009] EWHC 2525 (Fam), [2009] All ER (D) 314 (Oct)
The starting point in cases concerning persons lacking capacity brought under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 was the “structured decision making process” prescribed by the Act, a process that required the decision maker to take a number of steps before reaching a decision, including encouraging the vulnerable person to participate in the decision, “considering” the vulnerable person’s past and present wishes; which was always a significant factor to which the court had to pay close regard, her beliefs and values, and “taking into account” the views of third parties as to what would be in the vulnerable person’s best interests.
The statute laid down no hierarchy as between the various factors that had to be borne in mind, beyond the overarching principle that what was determinative was the judicial evaluation of what was in the vulnerable person’s “best interests”.
The weight to be attached to the various factors would, inevitably, differ depending upon the individual circumstances of the particular case. Having gone through those steps, the decision maker then had to
