A capacity letter gives your opinion, usually for the patient’s lawyer, on whether the patient could make a specific will or power of attorney at or near the date they sign it. Copy the template, see a will and a power of attorney example, and know what to ask, what to quote, and where your opinion stops.
Blank capacity letter template
FreeCAPACITY LETTER [Practice name] [Address] [Phone and email] Date: [Date you write the letter] To: [Lawyer's name, firm, and address] Your reference: [File number] Re: [Patient's full name] Date of birth: [Date] WHAT YOU ASKED You asked for my opinion on whether [patient name] had the capacity to make [a will, or a power of attorney for property, or a power of attorney for personal care], to be signed on [signing date, or signed on date]. Your letter of [date] set out the legal test you rely on, and I assessed against it. [Patient name] agreed to this assessment and to my sharing this letter, and the health information in it, with you. MY ROLE I am [patient name]'s [family physician, geriatrician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other role], and have [treated or known] [him, her, or them] since [year]. I write as [the treating clinician, or an assessor you retained]. My experience in assessing cognition: [One line] THE ASSESSMENT Date and place: [Date, and in person at the clinic or elsewhere], [number] days [before or after] the signing Length: [Minutes] Present: [Who came, who was in the room, and how long I saw the patient alone] Methods: [Interview on the decision, cognitive testing, records reviewed] Collateral history: [From whom, with the patient's agreement, or none] HEALTH BACKGROUND Conditions that may affect thinking: [Conditions, or none] Medications that may affect thinking: [Medications and doses, or none] On the day: [No sign of delirium or acute illness, or what I saw] Cognitive testing: [Test, score, and date. A score describes cognition; it does not answer the legal test] FINDINGS ON EACH PART OF THE TEST [Part 1 of the test]: [What I asked, and the answer in the patient's words] [Part 2 of the test]: [What I asked, and the answer in the patient's words] [Part 3 of the test]: [What I asked, and the answer in the patient's words] Consistency: [Whether the answers held when I asked again later in the visit] Possible influence: [Who arranged the visit, whether the patient answered for themselves, and whether their reasons seemed their own] MY OPINION In my opinion, on [date of assessment], [patient name] [understood, or did not understand] the matters above for [the document]. [Your reasons, in one or two sentences] This opinion is limited to [the document] on or about [date]. Whether it meets the legal test is for you and, if the document is challenged, a court to decide. NOT ASSESSED [What this letter does not cover, e.g. other decisions, other dates, the contents or fairness of the document, or whether undue influence occurred] [Your name, credentials] [License or registration number] [Signature]
Use it for
Each one follows the template. Use them to judge how much detail every part needs.
Family practice, a visit booked at her lawyer’s request 2 days before the signing
Her lawyer’s letter of Thursday, October 8, 2026, asked whether she has the capacity to sign a new will on Thursday, October 15, 2026, and set out the test the lawyer relies on. She agreed to the assessment, and to her lawyer receiving this letter with the health details in it.
I have been her family physician for 11 years and see her every 3 months for mild cognitive impairment. I write as her treating physician, not as an expert retained for a dispute.
In person at the clinic on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 2 days before the signing, for 50 minutes. Her daughter drove her and stayed in the waiting room. I saw her alone for the whole interview, then spoke with her daughter for 10 minutes with her permission.
Mild cognitive impairment, diagnosed in 2024, with stable day-to-day function: she lives alone, cooks, and pays her own bills. She takes no sedating or anticholinergic medicines, and showed no sign of delirium. Montreal Cognitive Assessment: 23 out of 30, with 2 of 5 words on delayed recall, the same as in 2025. The score fits her known impairment; it doesn’t by itself answer the question.
Asked what a will does, she said, “It says who gets my things when I die, and who sorts it all out.” She named her house, which she thinks is worth “about 600 thousand,” her savings and investments, “around 200 thousand, maybe a bit more,” and her car. This broadly matches the summary her lawyer sent me.
She named her 2 children and 4 grandchildren, and said her husband died in 2021. She wants to leave $20,000 to her eldest granddaughter: “She’s the first one to go to university. My husband always wanted to help with that.” She also wants her daughter as executor in place of her late husband. She knew the rest still goes to her son and daughter equally, as in her last will, and said she had told her son. She gave the same reasons when I asked again at the end of the visit.
She said the changes were her idea, first raised with her lawyer in September. She answered every question herself, and her daughter’s account matched hers.
In my opinion, on October 13, 2026, she understood what a will does, the general nature and value of what she owns, the family members who might expect to benefit, and the effect of the changes she plans. This is limited to this will, on or about that date. Whether it meets the legal test is for you and, if the will is challenged, a court to decide.
Her capacity for other decisions, such as managing her investments; the fairness of the gifts; and her capacity on any other day. If the signing moves by more than a few weeks, or her health changes, I would want to see her again. Signed by the family physician, with credentials and registration number, on practice letterhead. Written October 13, 2026.
Memory clinic, geriatrician’s follow-up the day before he signs a continuing, or durable, power of attorney for property
His lawyer’s letter of Wednesday, October 14, 2026, asked whether he can give a continuing power of attorney for property naming his wife as attorney and his son as substitute, to be signed on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The letter listed the items the law says he must understand. He agreed to the assessment and to this letter, including his diagnosis.
I am the geriatrician who diagnosed early Alzheimer’s disease in February 2026, and I have seen him 3 times since. I write as his treating specialist.
In person on Monday, October 19, 2026, the day before the signing, for 60 minutes. His wife gave a history for the first 10 minutes, then left the room; I saw him alone for 40 minutes. I also reviewed my clinic notes and his family physician’s referral.
Early Alzheimer’s disease, on donepezil 10 mg daily since March 2026, with no other medicines that affect thinking and no sign of delirium. Montreal Cognitive Assessment: 20 out of 30, with 1 of 5 words on delayed recall, down from 22 in February. He still pays his own bills, and his wife checks the statements.
He listed the house he owns with his wife, “paid off, maybe 700 thousand now,” his pension, and retirement savings “somewhere over 300 thousand.” He couldn’t give the exact balance, but his figures broadly matched what his wife described. On obligations: “My wife lives on my pension as much as on hers.”
“She can do anything with the money that I could, sell the house even. She can’t change my will.” He knew she would have to keep records and show them if asked, and that he could cancel the document “while I’m still able to.”
Asked what could go wrong, he said savings “could run down if they’re badly handled,” and that an attorney “could take advantage, in theory. That’s why my son is the backup and sees the statements.” He raised the idea of a power of attorney himself in February, after the diagnosis, and gave the same reasons today.
In my opinion, on October 19, 2026, he understood each of the items your letter lists for this power of attorney, despite his memory impairment. This is limited to this document, on or about that date. Whether it meets the legal test is for you and, if it is challenged, a court to decide.
Whether he can manage his own property, a separate question that may change as his illness progresses; a power of attorney for personal care, which has its own test; and any later date. Signed by the geriatrician, with credentials and registration number. Written October 19, 2026.
Each document has its own test, and the law that governs it decides which. These are the tests in a few places. Ask the patient’s lawyer which test applies, and assess against it; where no statute sets one out, it comes from court decisions.
Who asked, and for which document. A capacity opinion only means something for a named decision on a named date.
Avoid: Starting without the test. Ask the lawyer which test applies, and assess against that.
How you know the patient, and why you are able to give this opinion.
Avoid: Opinions outside your training. If the question turns on a condition you don’t usually assess, say so and suggest who can.
When, where, and how you assessed the patient, so the reader can weigh it against the signing date.
Avoid: An opinion from the chart alone, or from a visit months away from the signing.
Conditions and medications that could affect thinking or judgment, and anything acute on the day.
Avoid: Letting a diagnosis or a score stand in for the opinion. Neither answers the legal test.
The heart of the letter: each part of the legal test, what you asked about it, and what the patient said.
Avoid: Yes-or-no questions the patient can simply agree with. Ask open questions, and write down the answers.
Your clinical opinion, tied to this document and this date, and the edges of what you assessed.
Avoid: “Competent for all purposes,” or any opinion without a decision and a date.
“Competent” or “has full capacity” tells the lawyer nothing they can use. Name the document and the date, and say what the patient understood about it.
A cognitive test score describes the patient’s cognition, not whether they understood this decision. Give it as background, and base your opinion on their answers.
Capacity can fluctuate with delirium, illness, medicines, or time of day. Assess as close to the signing as you can, and give the gap in days.
Whether the patient meets the legal test, or was unduly influenced, is for the lawyer and, if challenged, a court. Give your findings and your clinical opinion.
Whether the gifts are fair or wise isn’t part of capacity. Record the patient’s reasons in their words, and leave the contents alone.
If someone who benefits sat in and answered for the patient, the letter carries less weight. See the patient alone for at least part of the visit, and say so.
Vero drafts the letter from your assessment, with each answer in the patient’s own words under the part of the test it speaks to. Check every finding and the opinion before it goes to the lawyer, then export it to PDF or Word.
Who asked and for which document, your role, when and how you assessed the patient compared with the signing date, relevant conditions and medications, what the patient said about each part of the legal test, and your opinion, limited to that document and date. Add what you didn’t assess, and sign it with your credentials and registration number.
The law that governs the will sets it, in a statute or in court decisions, so ask the lawyer for the test they rely on. Tests commonly ask whether the person understands what a will does, roughly what they own, and who might expect to benefit, and whether a delusion is shaping their choices.
No. Each document has its own test. For a power of attorney over property, the law in many places lists what the person must understand, such as what they own, what the attorney can do, and that they can revoke it. A power of attorney for personal care may have a different, often simpler, test.
No. A score describes cognition on the day; it doesn’t say whether the person understood this decision. Report it with its limits, and base your opinion on what the patient said about each part of the test.
Often, yes, especially early on. A diagnosis alone doesn’t decide capacity; what matters is whether the person understood what the test asks about that document when they signed. In some places, the law says a power of attorney for property is valid even if the person couldn’t manage their property when they signed it.
As close as you can: the same day, or within a few days. Capacity can change, especially with delirium or a progressive illness. Give the gap in days in the letter, and see the patient again if the signing is delayed or their health changes.
Describe what you saw: who arranged the visit, who was in the room, whether you saw the patient alone, and whether their reasons were consistent and their own. Undue influence is a legal finding, so leave the conclusion to the lawyer and, if it comes to that, a court.
A treating clinician who knows the patient can often answer a clear request. When the family disagrees, the change is large, or the impairment is significant, suggest a specialist, or a designated assessor where the law provides for one. You can decline a request that is outside your expertise.
Yes. Copy it, or download it as a Word or text file. No account needed.
Yes. Paste this template into Vero, and it drafts the letter from your assessment, with the patient’s answers in their own words. Check every finding and the opinion, then export it to PDF or Word.
For work or school: the visit, the dates off, the return, and any limits.
To an employer: full or modified duties, the restrictions, how long they last, and the review date.
To an employer or leave administrator: when the leave starts, how long it lasts, the review date, and what the return needs.
To an employer: what the condition limits, the change that would help, how long, and answers to the employer’s questions.
To an employer: the pregnancy-related limitation, the change needed at work, and how long it lasts.
When an existing power of attorney comes into effect.
When a patient can’t attend a hearing for health reasons.
The specialist’s reply when you refer a patient for a capacity assessment.
Fill a lawyer’s or insurer’s forms from the visit and the chart.
Vero writes your notes and letters in the templates you choose, so you review instead of type.
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