Following a court ruling to force feed an anorexic women, solicitors claim that living wills could now be affected if a person is deemed not to have had capacity to make important decisions at the time of the decision making. No longer will be it sufficient for someone to simply sign a document in the presence of family in order to have their advanced directive followed, doctors will now be required to asses patients who wish to do this.
A living will or advanced directive is when a person makes a decision to refuse medical treatment in order to help them survive further down the line. With such a ruling now in place it will be difficult for people to create these wills without psychiatric assessments being put in place. Private client solicitors will be interested to see how this develops and what it means for them.The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.Setfords Solicitors have Private Client solicitors throughout the country, with a number of these based along the South Coast. Please visit our Solicitors in Brighton and Hove page to find out more.