title: Of Sound Mind? Dementia and Aspects of Assessing Legal Capacity.
abstract: As dementia progresses, it weakens a person's legal capacity. Both legal and medical aspects are closely intertwined in the assessment of legal capacity. It is a legal problem whose solution requires medical expertise and a medical point of view. It is essential for lawyers to have basic knowledge about the effects of dementing illnesses in order to properly understand medical evidence presented in a case. For a physician it is necessary to have knowledge about different kinds of legal capacities and the complexity of legal assessment.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen
authors.forename: Kati
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Juva
mesh_terms: D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D026684:Personal Autonomy