…’to establish that the patient lacked mental capacity when she signed her current will.'”
My current will divides everything equally between my son, Ethan, and my daughter, Laura. Ethan had always believed he deserved more because he lived closer.
My doctor, Dr. Morgan, explained. If they could prove I’d been “confused” when I signed my will two years ago, they could challenge it after I died and try to get a larger share. They needed my medical records, and they needed a letter from him.
“You’ll get one,” Dr. Morgan said. “But not the one they want.”
He gave me a full cognitive evaluation that same week. I scored perfectly. He wrote a detailed letter confirming I had full mental capacity, now and when I’d signed my will. He also refused the law office’s records request.
My attorney added a video statement to my estate file, in which I explain, clearly and calmly, why I’ve divided everything equally and that no one pressured me. She also added a clause: any child who challenges the will forfeits their share.
I told Ethan all of it at Sunday dinner. His wife, Brooke, stopped eating. Ethan said they were “just being cautious.” I told him caution doesn’t involve emailing my doctor behind my back.
I still drive, manage my own accounts and volunteer at the animal shelter three days a week. Last month, I adopted a fourteen-year-old dog nobody else wanted. I named him Capacity. Ethan didn’t think it was funny. Laura laughed for ten minutes.
