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Overview
A capacity assessment is done only if there are legitimate reasons to believe the adult doesn’t have the ability to make their own decisions.
Medical exam
Before a capacity assessment, a doctor must give the adult a medical exam to make sure their decision-making ability isn’t being affected by a medical condition that is:
- temporary, or
- reversible
A healthcare professional, called a capacity assessor, checks to see if the adult understands:
- the facts they should consider when making a decision
- what could happen if they choose one option over another
Capacity is assessed to help determine whether or not:
- a personal directive should be enacted to give the agent authority to make a personal decision, or
- one of these decision-makers should be appointed for an adult:
- co-decision-maker
- guardian
- trustee
Capacity assessment forms
It's important to use the correct capacity assessment form. Find the form(s) you need.
Just because someone disagrees with an adult’s decisions doesn’t mean they’ve lost the ability to make their own decisions. If they fully understand the impact of a decision, they’re probably capable of making it.
Who can do a capacity assessment
Capacity assessors are professionals who are qualified to evaluate an adult’s ability to make decisions. They include all:
- physicians
- psychologists
If they’re trained and meet certain requirements, other healthcare professionals can be designated as capacity assessors. They may be registered:
- nurses
- psychiatric nurses
- social workers
- occupational therapists
Co-decision-making capacity assessment
The capacity assessor:
- meets with the adult
- asks them questions to determine the degree to which they can make personal decisions
- fills outs and signs a form that's valid for 6 months to be used in an application for co-decision-making
What is the cost
The fee, under the regulations, for a capacity assessment is up to:
- $500 for co-decision-making
If the cost of a capacity assessment is a financial hardship for you, contact the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT).
Adult guardianship and trusteeship capacity assessment
The capacity assessor:
- meets with the adult
- asks them questions to determine the degree to which they can make personal decisions
- fills out and signs a form that’s valid for 6 months to be used in an application for guardianship or trusteeship
What is the cost
The fee, under the regulations, for a capacity assessment is up to:
- $500 for guardianship or trusteeship
- $700 for combined guardianship and trusteeship
If the cost of a capacity assessment is a financial hardship for you, contact the OPGT.
Personal directive capacity assessment
When a person makes a personal directive, they can designate someone on the personal directive to ‘determine capacity’ with a physician.
Two people decide
Two people determine capacity before a personal directive takes effect:
- each does a capacity assessment
- they decide - together - whether the adult has lost the ability to make personal decisions
If someone is designated to determine capacity
The maker of the personal directive may have named someone as ‘designated to determine capacity.’ This person might be:
- a family member
- a friend
- their agent
The other person doing an assessment must be a:
- physician
- psychologist
If no one is designated to determine capacity
The maker of the personal directive might not have designated anyone to determine capacity. Then, 2 service providers will determine capacity.
One of them must be a:
- physician
- psychologist
The second service provider can be a:
- physician
- psychologist
- nurse
- manager of a care facility
- social worker
If the adult regains capacity
Sometimes people:
- recover from injuries or illness
- can make their own decisions again
If that happens, the adult should have another capacity assessment.
Find a capacity assessor
Find a qualified professional to do a capacity assessment for:
- adult guardianship
- co-decision-making
- trusteeship
These capacity assessments can be done by any:
- physician
- psychologist
- designated capacity assessor
We keep 2 lists of capacity assessors
- professionals who do capacity assessments for the public as part of their private practice
- those who do assessments as part of their job and work in places like hospitals or long-term care centres
Publications
Capacity Assessment – Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act
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Capacity assessment