See Guardian. Contested incompetency hearings can be very difficult and expensive. Please help us improve our site! No thank you. LII Wex Incompetence. Incompetence Primary tabs Definition 1. Individuals who agree to a legal transaction are responsible for the contract's obligations unless determined legally incompetent. Someone who is under age 18 or 21 based on where the legal decisions are taking place is not under the same laws as a person over those ages.
If an underage person signed a contract, he or she is not responsible if the contract is broken. This individual is protected by public policy from negotiating contracts due to inexperience. A person is said to have mental incapacity if he or she does not understand a contract's qualities and end result.
A difference must be established between a person who is mentally incompetent and a person who has been deemed incompetent by a court of law. A person declared unable to perform appropriately in court cannot make a contract with another person. This person cannot agree on a contract, because the court has decided he or she does not understand what the contract entails. A contract made by this type of person holds no value. When a mentally incapacitated person makes a contract and no judgment has been made on his or her mental incapacity, that person can revoke the contract.
The contract would then be legally void by this individual. In fact, the Arizona statutes are clear: appointment of a conservator is no finding as to the capacity of the person subject to the order. Having a guardianship demonstrates that the person is legally incompetent, but having a limited guardian, or a conservator, does not. But who gets to decide that someone needs a guardian or, for that matter, a limited guardian or a conservator? In Arizona, Superior Court judges make that decision.
There must be a written report documenting the incapacity. But note: the mere existence of a diagnosis, or even a medical evaluation, does not determine that someone is legally incompetent. Until a Superior Court judge says so, there is no such finding.
We understand that phrase to mean that someone knows who their family members are, what assets they have at least in a very general sense , and what it means to make a will. In fact, as we have described before , a person who has a guardian may still be able to sign a will at least in Arizona. A person under guardianship may even have the capacity to get married , hire an attorney , or any of a number of other things. In other words, the level of capacity required for different acts varies according to the act in question.
Similarly, someone who lacks capacity to make medical decisions might still be able to sign a health care power of attorney. That might not really be much of a stretch. After all, most of us lack the capacity to run a major American corporation. But we can still purchase stock in the company and delegate management to people who do have that ability.
Not much, really. Once a judge rules that a person is incapacitated as a synonym for incompetent , they still might be able to do all manner of things. One thing that surprises many people about guardianship: you lose the right to drive in Arizona.
There is a mechanism to allow people under guardianship to drive.
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