New Directions in Assessing Mental Competence: How the concept of limited guardianship has changed the meaning of competence

Abstract

As guardianship laws have been reformed and the concept of partial guardianship has emerged, traditional definitions of competency have changed and traditional methods of competency assessment have become inadequate. Ways are needed to assess capacity for particular functions, or decision-specific competence. This article explores ethical, conceptual, and practical difficulties and outlines an assessment model.