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37means of judgments of incapacity. This presentation discusses the connection between the elusivestandards for determination of incapacity in life and in will contest decisions.8.3. Testamentary CapacityMary F. Radford, Georgia State University (mradford@gsu.edu)Under state law in the United States, an individual cannot execute a valid will unless the individual has“testamentary capacity.” Testamentary capacity is the legal level of competence required to make adisposition of one’s property at death. The court will not enforce the provisions of a will if the testatorlacked that capacity. When a testator’s will is submitted for probate, those submitting it must prove thatthe testator did in fact have testamentary capacity at the time the will was signed. The law favors atestator’s right to dispose of his or her property at death, and, consequently, the required level of capacityfor doing so has historically been quite low. Generally, a testator must have only a basic comprehension ofthe extent of her estate and the general nature of the disposition she is making. These two components ofthe test for testamentary capacity resemble somewhat the test used to determine whether an individualneeds a guardian of her property. However, in most states, an individual can be adjudicated to be“incapacitated” for purposes of having a guardian of the property appointed and yet still be found to havehad testamentary capacity. This session will explore how these two definitions of capacity differ and yetmutually co-exist. An additional element of testamentary capacity that will be discussed is the requirementthat a testator recognize those persons whom the law deems to be the “natural objects of her bounty.” Thelaw considers a testator’s immediate family to be the “natural objects of her bounty.” Sometimes testatorsmake dispositions that are considered “unnatural” in that the testator gives the property to people other thanfamily members or leaves it in trust for purposes that are eccentric or unusual. While the “unnatural”disposition of a testator’s property is not sufficient to show the testator lacked capacity, this often becomesthe focus of will contests. This session will explore traditional definitions of testamentary capacity as wellas cases in which decision-makers confuse the question by infusing their own values into the determinationof whether a testator had the requisite capacity.8.4.Assessment of Mental Capacity in Medical and Psychiatric In-PatientsMatthew Hotopf, Weston Education Centre, London, England (m.hotopf@iop.kcl.ac.uk)In England and Wales, two draft bills - the Mental Capacity Bill and the Mental Health Bill - will have aconsiderable impact on how mentally incapacitated adults are treated. There have been calls for the MentalHealth Bill to be based on a test of mental capacity, rather than the current and proposed “status” approach,in which the presence of a mental disorder determines the use of the Act, rather than the patient’s ability tomake a specific treatment decision. There has also been concern over the potential gaps in legislationbetween the two Bills.In this presentation, I will describe three studies supported by the Wellcome Trust. First, I will present datawhich suggest that mental capacity can be assessed with excellent inter-rater reliability when using theMacArthur Competence Assessment Tool – Treatment (MacCAT-T). Second, I will describe our generalhospital study in which 159 consecutive patients admitted to medical wards were interviewed, usingMacCAT-T. 31% of the interviewed sample lacked capacity; this figure rose when taking into accountnon-participants who did not complete the interview because of severe cognitive impairment orunconsciousness. Mental incapacity was strongly associated with cognitive impairment and advancing age,