Talk to Dr. Chafetz now : 469-233-5566
Paul K. Chafetz, PhD Clinical Psychology
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      • Competence to sign a will
      • Contesting a will
      • Guardianship
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  • Home
  • Services
  • About
  • Contact
    • Send Dr. Chafetz a Message
    • Contact Information >
      • Office Location
    • Upcoming Events
    • New patient registration forms
    • Site Map
  • Blog
  • Media
    • Speaking Engagements
    • Articles
    • Quizzes
    • Other Media
  • Services
    • Adult Psychology >
      • Midlife Crisis Depression
      • Dealing With Empty Nest Syndrome
      • Adjustment To Retirement
      • Caregiver Support
      • Dealing with Adult Children
      • Dealing with Elderly Parents
      • Dealing With Difficult Relatives
      • Authority and Responsibility in Families
      • Boomerang adult children
      • BOOM: Becoming one's own man
    • Health Psychology >
      • Depression Psychotherapy
      • Anxiety Therapy
      • Insomnia Therapy
      • Chronic Illness Therapy
      • Pain Management Therapy
    • Psychology of Life >
      • Self-Esteem Therapy
      • Stages of Life Psychology
      • Assertiveness Therapy
      • Psychology of Forgiveness
      • Family Psychotherapy
      • Birth Order Psychology
    • Clinical Gero-Psychology >
      • Grief Therapy
      • Dementia Therapy
      • Coping with Senility
    • Forensic Gero-Psychology >
      • Competence to sign a will
      • Contesting a will
      • Guardianship
      • Vulnerability to exploitation
    • Need a speaker?
  • Past Events

Competence to sign a will

The legal term for this is "testamentary capacity."  Texas law requires the following five elements to be present.  The person who is completing a will must: 

1.  Know/understand that they are making a will (the business at hand);

2.  Know/understand the parameters of his/her estate (nature & extent of their property);

3.  Know/understand the "natural objects of their bounty," (typical inheritors; the persons dependent upon his bounty, and the persons to whom he/she means to devise and bequeath his/her property);
                 
4.   Know/understand how the will distributes his/her property; and

5.   Have sufficient memory to collect in his/her mind the elements of the business to be transacted, and to hold them long enough to perceive at least their obvious relation to each other, and be able to form a reasonable judgment as to them.

Dr. Chafetz is frequently called upon to assess an individual who is preparing to sign a will, in order to document the degree to which the person has the cognitive ability to fulfill these requirements for testamentary capacity.

Phone : 469.233.5566
Email :
PKChafetz@gmail.com
Paul K. Chafetz, PhD: Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist
Office Location: 8340 Meadow Rd., #134, Dallas, TX  75231