Jakubek Anna, Montag Tristan, Hull Ian M, Shulman Kenneth
Faculty of Health Sciences (A.J.), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
Faculty of Law (T.M.), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2025 May;33(5):546-555. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2024.11.002. Epub 2024 Nov 28.
An increase in will challenges on the grounds of lack of capacity and undue influence is anticipated in the face of an imminent transfer of generational wealth by a growing elderly population with a high prevalence of cognitive impairment. Medical experts will be a necessary element of litigation to help the courts make the best legal determinations involving cognitive and psychiatric functions that may affect mental capacity and vulnerability to influence. We conducted the first systematic literature review using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses ("PRISMA") guidelines in order to identify articles that addressed a comprehensive medico-legal approach to the assessment of testamentary capacity. Only 12 articles met the criteria for the systematic review. Banks v Goodfellow ("Banks") continues to be considered the leading case that defines the criteria for the courts and lawyers in the determination of testamentary capacity. However, quantitative data to support this impression is nowhere to be found. Moreover, unpredictability remains a hallmark of cases involving will challenges. Since calls for increased medico-legal collaboration and updates to the Banks test have not been evaluated, a scoping review of a large number of judicial decisions is required to better understand the current approach to this legal determination. Relevant variables could be used to develop a predictive model that would help lawyers and medical experts in this important societal collaboration.
面对认知障碍患病率较高的老年人口即将进行的代际财富转移，预计因缺乏行为能力和受到不当影响而引发的遗嘱质疑将会增加。医学专家将成为诉讼中的必要元素，以帮助法院做出涉及可能影响精神能力和易受影响程度的认知及精神功能的最佳法律判定。我们按照系统评价与荟萃分析的首选报告项目（“PRISMA”）指南进行了首次系统文献综述，以找出论述评估遗嘱能力的全面医学-法律方法的文章。只有12篇文章符合系统评价的标准。“班克斯诉古德费洛案”（“班克斯案”）仍然被视为界定法院和律师判定遗嘱能力标准的主要案例。然而，找不到支持这一观点的定量数据。此外，不可预测性仍然是涉及遗嘱质疑案件的一个特点。由于尚未对加强医学-法律合作的呼声以及对班克斯测试的更新进行评估，因此需要对大量司法判决进行范围综述，以更好地了解当前进行这一法律判定的方法。相关变量可用于开发一个预测模型，这将有助于律师和医学专家开展这一重要的社会合作。
