Mental health law covers civil and criminal proceedings, determining competence, contracts, asset protection, criminal trials, involuntary commitment, and advance directives for future mental health problems. Different regions have different standards.
Mental health law refers to the law relating to an individual’s mental competence. Civil and criminal proceedings are both covered by mental health law. Different regions have different benchmarks for determining a person’s level of competence and what rights can be removed from a person deemed incompetent.
In the civil arena, mental health law is used to determine whether someone is mentally competent enough to enter into a legally binding contract. Contracts are used to make purchases, promise services, and consolidate actions including marriage, divorce, and adoption. A person who has been found to be mentally incompetent may be prohibited from entering into such contracts without the approval of a guardian or mental health professional.
An individual’s assets may be protected by mental health law. Someone who has been declared mentally incapacitated will usually not be allowed to maintain control over their finances. A trustee or family member is usually appointed to manage the money, which is placed in a trust fund. The money is used to provide for the needs of the individual. This may mean that the person in question receives a regularly paid allowance, or it may mean that every bill is paid by the trustee from the trust fund.
For criminal cases, mental health law is used to determine whether a person is fit to stand trial for a crime they are alleged to have committed. The law tests the individual’s ability to understand the ramifications of crime, as well as her responsibility in relation to its commission. It also determines the defendant’s ability to understand the judicial proceedings and to participate in their own defense. Each region has its own rules on what constitutes understanding responsibility for actions and participating in legal proceedings.
Involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility is also governed by the Mental Health Act. The right to liberty cannot be removed without proof that the individual is a danger to himself or a danger to society. Each region has deadlines and commitment standards that must be followed for involuntary detention in any psychiatric facility.
Some regions have enacted laws that allow individuals to make advance directives when it comes to their future mental health problems. Just as a medical advance directive determines the individual’s desired level of care for a future medical scenario, a mental health advance directive provides the individual’s wishes for care in the event of a mental health crisis. Examples of advance directives for mental health include the type of facility preferred, financial trustees appointed, and estate disposition.
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