Managing key practice challenges under the MCA

The Mental Capacity Act provides the legal framework for assessing capacity and making best interests decisions for adults who are vulnerable and lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves. Although the Act’s test for capacity appears straightforward, applying it in more complex situations can be tricky. This seminar will examine some of the key practice challenges when assessing capacity and explore ways of tackling them, with a specific focus on: 

• Dealing with borderline or fluctuating capacity.
• Applying the functional test of capacity and how to establish whether a person can really weigh the relevant information or not.
• Understanding the difference between unwise decisions made with capacity and incapacitated decision making.
• What to do when a person refuses to engage in the capacity assessment itself.