Question

You are an adult friend of a sixty-five year old male, James, who lives next door. James is friendly and kind to you and your family. James has become increasingly forgetful of facts and names lately and you once found him lost in another part of your familiar neighborhood. On the other hand, James has significant periods of mental clarity, living independently and performing complex mental tasks. For example, he profitably buys and sells collectibles at flea markets and on the Internet. James's family lives far away, and may not know that James is possibly showing early signs of mental instability. You know that a court can determine if someone is mentally incompetent and appoint a guardian to represent that individual. Only then can the guardian enter into binding legal obligations on behalf of the mentally incompetent person.
Required:
From the perspective of contractual legal capacity, explain the advantages and drawbacks of declaring someone like James incompetent.

Answer 1

Answer:

Advantages of declaring James incompetent:

• James will have someone taking care of him permanently.
• Since James lives alone, it will not cause stress on his family.
• Court will appoint a person to manage and handle James' assets through a power of attorney.  

Disadvantages of declaring James incompetent:

• James will lose control of his assets and his business might decline.
• He might be psychologically affected even more and his condition could get worse.
• After a while, his legal guardian might want to change his mind because taking care of someone else might become a problem.