A nurse goes to court after difficult a patient’s last will and testament

A will (also often known as a will) is a legal document used to transfer an individual’s assets to specified beneficiaries after his or her death.

Each state has specific requirements for a Last Will and Testament, including whether it should be typed, whether it might be handwritten, whether notarization is required, and whether witnesses are required to be present when the patient signs the need. If witnesses are required, these individuals must see the will-maker sign the document, be told that the document constitutes the need of the will-maker, state that she or he appears to be of sound mind, and that the person/patient has not been under any circumstances “unduly influenced “. They must then sign the need as witnesses. Some states allow a “self-proof” will, which implies that the last will and testament is accompanied by an affidavit of witnesses confirming the above requirements.

AND self-verifying A will makes it easier for the probate court to find out its validity without the necessity for witnesses to the need to testify in court.

If the need will not be self-contained, the witnesses who signed it will be required to testify in court about what they observed while signing it. Following thing illustrates the nurse’s role in meeting these requirements.

Signing the last will and testament

The patient was diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma and placed in a nursing home because he was unable to take care of himself. Shortly thereafter, he made his last will and testament, and 6 days later he died on the age of 81. The will was prepared by his lawyer. The attorney met with the patient in a nursing home without relations present. After the patient assured that the need had appropriately expressed his wishes, the attorney asked the family to return to the patient’s room. The patient signed the need with a lawyer and an RN on the nursing home as witnesses. The will was notarized by the patient’s banker.

Earlier within the day, the RN had performed a cognitive assessment on the patient. She found that (1) his short- and long-term memory had no problems; (2) had an alert level of consciousness; (3) had adequate hearing; (4) had the power to know others; and (5) had no cognitive impairment.

The RN also performed a mental health assessment on the patient, which found he was affected by “major depression.”

Family and content of the need

The patient never married and had no children. He had two brothers, one in every of whom died before the patient and the opposite after the patient but before this case was filed. The patient also had a sister-in-law, now a widow, and a nephew. The patient was very involved in his church. He donated a big sum of cash to the church for a brand new dining room and in addition talked to the church president’s son about donating land to the church before his death. The deceased patient’s will stated that every one his property and the remainder of his estate would go to the church. The will included a desire to offer the nephew his residence and 4 acres of property, and stated that the church would complete the deed of transfer of the property if the patient was unable to achieve this. The church accomplished the deed of transfer.

The nephew filed a petition with the probate court, alleging that the patient died intestate (will). The defendants opposed the lawsuit, arguing that the need was valid.

At the hearing, the RN, attorney, and banker testified that the deceased (deceased patient) seemed to be of sound mind. The trial court found that the last will and testament were valid and probated under Minnesota law. The Court also found that the nephew had failed to supply sufficient evidence to rebut the rebuttable presumption that the deceased patient actually had capability to testate. The nephew admitted that the need was self-sufficient, but he appealed against the trial court’s judgment. He argued that the need was invalid resulting from the Social Welfare Home’s violation of the regulations by allowing people from outside the immediate family to go to the patient on the day of his death, in addition to the dearth of capability to attract up a will.

Ruling of the court of appeal

In an unpublished ruling (meaning it’s binding only on the parties to the case and can’t be used as precedent), the appeals court began by stating that Nephew had not cited any legal authority to support his claim that the visits outside the family will invalidate it. Therefore, this proposal was rejected. The nephew’s second claim, that the patient lacked the capability to make a will resulting from his serious health condition and depression, was also rejected by the court. He also argued that the opinions of the lawyer, nurse and banker were the opinions of laymen. Since the nephew didn’t raise this objection throughout the trial, this claim also failed. The court reviewed state law regarding testable capability and upheld the lower court’s ruling that the decedent did have testable capability.

Addressing the nephew’s claim that his uncle’s “severe depression” resulted in his inability to make a will, the court upheld the defendant’s attorney’s contention that there was a difference between “mental health” and “mental capacity.”

The court clearly stated that the mental state doesn’t determine the capability to testate a will. The judgment of the primary instance court was upheld.

What instructions does this case have in your practice?

Most healthcare facilities have a policy that nurse practitioners will not be substantiated by any of the patient’s legal documents, including a final will and testament. For health care facilities that allow nurses to perform this role, the nurse is guided by policy and procedure. In each situations, there are just a few things to take note:

• Become aware of your employer’s policy regarding the production of all patient legal documents and strictly follow it.
• Know that even when a Last Will and Testament appears to be valid and “self-proven,” a legal challenge to its legality may occur long after the will-maker’s death.
• Clear, accurate and complete documentation is crucial for each legal document signed by a patient at your facility, including your observations of the patient and what was said and by whom.
• Please note that certified expert nursing and assisted living facilities allow visits to residents based on their selection.
• Ensure that the resident’s request for a will has been complied with by contacting the nurse manager in order that the resident’s attorney might be notified and the will and spot might be provided within the resident’s medical record.

Take these ethics and documentation courses:

This course provides an summary of bioethics because it applies to health care and nursing within the US. It shows how ethics function in nursing and in an interdisciplinary ethics committee covering all the hospital. The course explains the weather of ethical decision-making as they apply to each patient care and ethics committees. The course concludes with a take a look at the moral challenges related to physician-assisted suicide, organ transplantation, and genetic testing. Although documentation has at all times been a very important a part of nursing practice, the increasingly complex health care environment, litigious society, and number of settings during which patients receive care require nurses to pay greater attention to documentation. This continuing education module discusses the importance of documentation, different documentation formats and settings, and what nurses must document, including details about difficult situations. More than 20 years ago, the Patient Self-Determination Act promised greater patient involvement in end-of-life treatment decisions. Unfortunately, research has shown that current types of advance directives haven’t resulted in providers respecting patients’ end-of-life selections. To address this issue, Physician-Oriented Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is currently getting used or is being developed throughout the United States. POLST documents medical orders based on the patient’s current health status in the sphere of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, medical interventions and artificial nutrition. Ideally, this process reflects thoughtful care planning conversations between patients and providers.