Letter · Elder Law & Powers of Attorney / Guardianship
Letter to a medical practitioner requesting a capacity assessment for a specific decision
Letter asking a GP or specialist to assess a client's capacity for a specific legal decision (will, enduring power of attorney, enduring guardian, sale or gift), stating the correct legal test and asking targeted questions rather than for a general opinion.
- Kind
- Letter. A letter or email you adapt and send.
- Where it applies
- Australia, New South Wales
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked against the cited sources on 17 October 2026.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when instructions raise doubt about capacity, before signing a will or enduring instrument, or where a later challenge is foreseeable. Get the client's informed consent to the referral and to the release of information, and send only to a safe practitioner chosen with the client.
How AI may be used
AI may tailor the questions to the decision and draft the factual background from the lawyer's statement of the test, under close supervision. The legal test must be stated accurately by the lawyer, and the doctor's opinion is evidence, not something AI infers.
AI may
- Draft the background and document list from the lawyer's file note
- Tailor the question set to the decision type from the lawyer's statement of the legal test
AI must not
- Must not state or paraphrase the legal test without the lawyer settling it
- Must not process medical records in a tool not approved for health information
- Must not suggest a conclusion on capacity
The lawyer checks
- The correct test for the specific decision is stated
- Client consent to the referral and to release of information
- Questions are neutral and do not lead the assessor
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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