MDO issues warning after judge criticises GP in legal battle over war veteran’s will
The GP failed to establish that the 97-year-old fully understood the ramifications of leaving his house to a hairdresser, the Supreme Court of Victoria says
A medical defence organisation has warned GPs that assessing a patient’s capacity to change their will is not the same as assessing capacity to consent to treatment, following a legal battle over the will of a WWII veteran.
Norman Maddock, 97, left his $1 million house to a hairdresser who had been his friend for 20 years and only $300,000 to his wife, who had dementia and lived in an aged care home.
As a result, the trustee for the wife, who died this year, challenged the legality of the will in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Mr Maddock’s GP told the court that he had treated him for two years and performed a mini mental state examination 10 days before the will was executed in January 2020.
