Читать книгу Protect Your Elderly Parents - Lynne Butler - Страница 19

The behaviours mentioned in sections 1 and 2 can be seen in many elderly people who are beginning to lose their mental competence. However, unless you are a doctor, it is not easy to understand what these behaviours mean or why they are occurring. Loss of mental capacity may be due to any one of a dozen causes. In many cases, loss of capacity is progressive in elderly people, meaning that the possibility of recovering capacity is slim. Only a doctor can tell you for sure whether this is happening to your elderly relative.

Loss of mental capacity is rarely all or nothing, especially in the early stages. Keep in mind that your elderly relative may be perfectly capable of independence in some areas while losing his or her ability to deal with another area. This is why guardianship and trusteeship are in most parts of Canada considered to be two different jobs; not every dependent adult needs help with all areas of living.

You should consult with a doctor to try to understand how your elderly relative’s condition will affect him or her now and in the future. By consulting with your elderly relative’s doctor, you may be able to predict the kind of care your relative will need in the future. You can then work within the legal system to set up the protection and assistance that is needed. The level and type of assistance needed may well change over time.

As a cautionary note, try not to jump to conclusions about an elderly relative’s capacity regarding money. It is important to understand that an elderly relative may make financial decisions that you do not like. This does not necessarily mean that the relative has lost mental capacity. Generally speaking, an adult does not require the approval of other adults (even if those adults are his or her children) when spending his or her own money. Most of us can think of friends who choose to use their money for gambling, risky investments, expensive leisure equipment, or the support of a particular individual. Often these are choices with which we may not agree but we do not interfere, recognizing that individual’s right to spend his or her own money as he or she sees fit.

As an adult, your elderly relative has the same right as anyone else to decide what he or she wants to do with his or her money, even if the person’s choices may look odd or foolish to other people. It is only when it becomes apparent that the odd decisions are being made because your elderly relative is suffering from memory loss, disorientation, or influence by an unscrupulous person that mental capacity becomes an issue. Make sure that you are not imposing your own wishes or values on your elderly relative; your goal is to make sure that he or she is still able to express his or her own wishes.