Capacity &
Capability Clinic
The Capacity & Capability Clinic is a multidisciplinary professional practice providing a medico-legal capacity and capability assessment service.
Bringing together legal and clinical expertise, the Capacity and Capability Clinic helps and supports the autonomy of individuals and their families when they need to make important and often complex decisions about financial, legal, health and welfare matters.
We specialise in exploring options, navigating pathways and evidencing capability to support individuals with questionable or less than autonomous decision-making capabilities to achieve their objectives. Our approach is to provide a safe, constructive and conflict-free environment.
We can assist you and represent your interests in situations including: guardianship, supported accommodation, powers of attorney, medical consent, financial exploitation, financial management, supported decision making, conflict management, functional and legal impact of cognitive impairment, contractual capacity, succession, conflict and dispute resolution and business and estate administration.
Decision Making Capacity Evaluation Reports
Formal capacity evaluation is often considered if there is reason to question a client or patient’s decision making abilities. Combining deep legal and neuropsychological expertise, we assess a client’s decision making and provide the relevant required medico-legal decision making evaluation and written feedback report.
Our Specialists
Michael Perkins
Lawyer, author, educator
Michael Perkins has over 30 years of expertise in trusts, estates and private practice and he has helped families across generations to preserve and manage their wealth, family and community connections.
As well as helping clients with family, business, wealth and succession interests, he is an expert in dealing with the challenges of corporate growth, asset protection, estate administration and succession.
With more than 30 years of experience, Michael is a mentor and general counsel to businesses and families. He is the co-author of the book “Estate Planning: A Practical Guide for Estate and Financial Services Professionals”, published by LexisNexis and now in its fifth edition.
Dr Jane Lonie
Clinical neuropsychologist, author, educator
With 20 years of experience in the assessment, management and research of cognitive dysfunction in adults and older adults, Dr Jane Lonie works closely with Michael Perkins to ensure you, your family and your business interests age well.
Jane provides autonomy assessments and supported decision making methodologies. She is highly experienced in providing clinical and medico–legal consultancy for patients, as well as expert medico–legal opinion to the courts on legal capacity.
Jane’s cases range from early and differential dementia diagnosis, cognitive impairment, testamentary capacity, guardianship disputes and financial management orders to assessing a person’s capacity to instruct, give evidence or appoint or revoke a power of attorney.
Jane is the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed articles on dementia and capacity.
What to expect from your visit
To help clients understand what they can expect at each stage of the decision making ability evaluation process, we have created our consultation journey guide.
At an appointment there is an opportunity for the client, as well as any accompanying family members or supporters, to discuss your objectives with both Dr Lonie and Mr Perkins.
The initial discussion is focused on understanding:
- the personal context of the person under care / person of concern (who may or may not be the client)
- the presenting problem – what does this mean? The reason for the visit?
- the will and preference of the person under care, and
- how to support, safeguard and advance the will and preference of the person under care or, as necessary, their personal legal representatives and supporters.
Please note: no diagnosis is possible in the first discussion.
Clients are asked to bring to their appointment:
- Any documents about which they seek or are being asked to make a decision. You can find examples in the Patient Initial Questionnaire.
- Reading glasses and hearing aids if needed.
- Someone who can help describe the client’s difficulties if they are experiencing any problem with thinking abilities or memory.
Outcomes
We can help you resolve requirements for informed consent to a range of decisions including:
Medical treatment proposals
Homecare requirements and service provider evaluation
Aged care entry
Establishing personal representation for pre and post-death requirements
Evaluating and resolving complex decisions and family conflict
Evaluating objectives for wealth conservation, administration and succession
Centrelink enquiry actions and assistance applications
Supporting NDIS application and plan reviews.
Supporting Centrelink DSP applications and reviews
Supporting hospital-referred clinical requirements.
Follow-on work*
*For any proposed follow-on work after the Medico-legal Service clients are at liberty to consult the Clinic’s practitioners or any other professional of their choice. Follow-on work incurs additional cost.
Make an appointment
Clients may contact the Clinic directly or be referred by their practitioner. We receive referrals from professionals in health and allied health sectors, estate planning lawyers, financial planners, accountants and others.
To make an appointment, simply call 1300 31 42 82 or email enquiry@autonomyfirst.com