Mental Capacity Assessment

Statutory Will Mental Capacity Assessment Package

Court-ready statutory will evidence for solicitors, deputies and families across England and Wales.

A statutory will assessment package is a coordinated set of assessments and reports used to support an application to the Court of Protection for a statutory will, where a person cannot make or amend a Will for themselves. It brings together a testamentary capacity assessment, care needs and costs evidence, a life expectancy opinion and COP3 completion where required, so the court can understand both the person's decision-making ability and their wider circumstances. Nellie Supports provides this package across England and Wales through a permanent full-time multidisciplinary team, peer reviewed before delivery.

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£2,800 + VAT

Full package fee, stated before instruction

2 to 3 weeks

Typical turnaround

England and Wales

Nationwide coverage

Court of Protection

Court-ready evidence package

Nellie Supports is England and Wales' largest identified specialist private social work and mental capacity assessment practice, delivered by a permanent full-time team. Services are provided by employed, multidisciplinary professionals, not an ad hoc associate, contractor or referral-panel model. We have completed over 11,000 formal assessments and reports. This service sits alongside our full range of mental capacity assessment services.

When you may need a statutory will package

A statutory will package is usually needed where there is concern that a person can no longer make or amend a Will for themselves, and the Court of Protection will need clear evidence about capacity, care needs, likely future costs and life expectancy before the application can be considered.

This often arises where someone has dementia, a brain injury, a progressive illness or another condition affecting decision-making, and there is a need to understand both their testamentary capacity and the wider practical and financial context of the case. It is particularly helpful where a solicitor or family wants to avoid gaps in the evidence and put forward a complete, joined-up package.

The legal framework for statutory wills

A statutory will application is made to the Court of Protection under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, where the court is asked to authorise a Will on behalf of someone who lacks the capacity to make or amend one themselves. In deciding, the court weighs:

Whether the person lacks testamentary capacity, applying the Banks v Goodfellow test

Whether authorising a statutory Will is in the person's best interests under the Mental Capacity Act 2005

The person's likely wishes, feelings, beliefs and values

Their relationships and their current and future needs

The Court of Protection does not approve a Will simply because capacity is lacking. It considers all of the available evidence and decides whether a statutory will is in the person's best interests, taking into account what the person would do if able to make a Will themselves. That is why clear, decision-specific capacity evidence, together with care, cost and life expectancy information, is often needed to help the court reach a properly informed decision.

Framework: Mental Capacity Act 2005 ss 1, 4, 16 and 18; Court of Protection forms COP1, COP1C and COP3; Practice Direction 9E.

For the framework in full, read our guide: testamentary capacity versus statutory will applications.

Our statutory will process

Initial enquiry and triage

We gather the key details, explain how the statutory will package works, and identify which reports are needed for the case.

Quotation and booking

Once we understand the scope, we provide a clear quotation including VAT and any travel costs, and arrange the assessment appointments as quickly as possible.

Assessment visits

We attend to complete the testamentary capacity assessment and the social care needs assessment. Where needed, a second visit completes or clarifies the care evidence and care planning.

Report preparation and peer review

Our forensic scientist prepares the life expectancy opinion, and we prepare the care plan, costs review, testamentary capacity report and COP3 where required.

Peer review and secure delivery

The reports are checked for quality and consistency, then delivered securely for solicitor and Court of Protection use, with clarification available after delivery.

Inside the evidence package

The strength of this service is in how the reports work together. Each is structured so the Court of Protection and the legal team can follow the evidence and rely on it.

Instruction and the statutory will application in question

Testamentary capacity assessment applying the Banks v Goodfellow test

Social care needs assessment and current circumstances

Care plan setting out how needs should be met

Costs review of current and projected care costs

Life expectancy opinion prepared from medical and care evidence

COP3 completion where required

Best interests context and Court of Protection considerations

Statutory will fees and timescales

£2,800 + VAT

Full package fee. VAT at 20% and travel costs are not included. COP3 Part B only is available at £600 + VAT.

Social Care Needs Assessment

Care Plan

Costs Review

Testamentary Capacity Assessment

COP3 Completion

Life Expectancy Opinion Report

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COP3 Part B only, or the full package?

Some cases need only formal COP3 capacity evidence, while others need the full joined-up package the court expects for a statutory will application. We offer both.

COP3 Part B Only

£600 + VAT

Formal COP3 Part B capacity evidence
Decision-specific testamentary capacity assessment
Structured for Court of Protection use

Where only COP3 capacity evidence is required.

Statutory Will Package

£2,800 + VAT

Testamentary capacity assessment
Social care needs assessment and care plan
Costs review
Life expectancy opinion report
COP3 completion where required

The complete, joined-up evidence package for a statutory will application.

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A full-time, multidisciplinary team

Nellie Supports is built on an employed, permanent team: registered social workers, a Chartered Psychologist and specialist assessors working together to one standard, with every report peer reviewed by a second qualified professional. Your assessment is never passed to an associate bank or referral panel.

The right professional for the decision

Capacity questions range from care and residence to complex cognition and prognosis. A multidisciplinary team means the discipline is matched to the decision, not to whoever is available.

One consistent standard

The team works together full time, so every assessment follows the same methodology and peer review is built into every report rather than bolted on.

Accountability you can name

Your report is signed by an employed professional who answers for their work, and the practice stands behind it.

Continuity, not hand-offs

The people who take your enquiry, carry out the assessment and review the report all work in one practice, so nothing is lost between stages.

How this works in practice

The situation

Our client was an older woman living with dementia. She had no Will in place and two adult children. She told us she wished to leave her entire estate to her son, who had had no contact with her since he left home at eighteen, some forty years earlier. Her solicitor instructed Nellie Supports to assess her testamentary capacity before any Will was made.

What the assessment found

Applying the Banks v Goodfellow test, the assessment identified fixed, delusional beliefs about her daughter that were directly shaping how she wished to leave her estate. Her wish to exclude the daughter who remained in her life, in favour of a son she had not seen for four decades, was driven by those beliefs rather than by a settled, rational decision. Because a disorder of the mind was influencing the disposition in this way, the assessment concluded that she did not have the testamentary capacity to make the Will she was proposing.

The outcome

With clear, reasoned evidence that the client lacked testamentary capacity, the family were able, through their solicitors, to apply to the Court of Protection for a statutory Will. That route allowed her estate to be dealt with properly and in her best interests, rather than on the basis of a Will shaped by delusional belief.

This is an illustrative example, drawn from the common features of the statutory will cases we assess. It does not describe any individual client.

Why families, solicitors and deputies choose Nellie Supports

Prepared for Court of Protection use

Clear reasoning linked to the relevant legal framework and the specific issues in the case.

A joined-up package

Testamentary capacity, care needs, projected costs, COP3 where required and life expectancy in one coordinated service.

MoCA-accredited assessors

Cognitive screening available where appropriate at no extra cost.

Life expectancy by a forensic scientist

Prepared by our forensic scientist, registered with the Royal Anthropological Institute, using medical evidence and recognised data sources.

Employed, not outsourced

A permanent full-time team, not ad hoc associates, so assessors bring regular practical experience.

Peer reviewed

Every case is reviewed by a second qualified professional before delivery.

Statutory will FAQs

Do you need a COP3 for a statutory will application?

Often, yes. A COP3 provides formal capacity evidence for the Court of Protection, but statutory will cases usually require additional evidence alongside it, including care, cost and life expectancy information.

Is a life expectancy report always needed?

Not in every case, but it is commonly required where future care needs, prognosis or projected costs are relevant to the application and the court needs a clearer picture of the person's likely circumstances over time.

What is the difference between testamentary capacity and general capacity?

Testamentary capacity is specific to making or changing a Will. A person may lack capacity in other areas, such as managing finances, but still retain the ability to make a Will, so it must always be assessed separately.

Does this service include drafting the will itself?

No. This service produces the assessment and expert evidence package that supports the application. The legal drafting of the proposed statutory Will and the court application documents usually sit with the instructing solicitor or applicant.

Can a statutory will application be urgent?

Yes. You can apply for an emergency decision on a statutory Will if the person only has a short time to live. In urgent cases, raise timing at the outset so the evidential work can be targeted appropriately.

Will the court automatically approve a statutory will if the person lacks capacity?

No. Lack of capacity is only one part of the picture. The court must consider what the person would do if able to make a Will themselves, alongside their beliefs, values and the way they made decisions in the past.

What if the assessment does not reach the conclusion we hoped for?

Our assessments are independent, and that independence is what gives the report its value. We do not begin from a preferred answer. We assess the specific decision on its merits and record the reasoning, whatever the conclusion. A report that only ever confirmed what was hoped for would carry no weight with a solicitor, the Court of Protection or anyone else relying on it.

Statutory will guides

Testamentary capacity versus statutory will applications

When a statutory Will is the right route

Banks v Goodfellow and the test for making a will

The legal test explained, limb by limb

What is testamentary capacity?

The decision, the test and who assesses it

Solicitor instructions and evidence in will capacity assessments

What solicitors should instruct and provide

Retrospective testamentary capacity and disputed wills

Assessing capacity at a historical date

Other assessment types

We also provide mental capacity assessments for other decisions. If you need a testamentary capacity assessment, a COP3 for the Court of Protection, or an assessment for managing finances, our team can help.

Testamentary capacity assessment

For making or amending a Will, applying the Banks v Goodfellow test.

COP3 mental capacity assessment

For Court of Protection deputyship applications.

Capacity to Manage Finances

Independent, decision-specific assessment of capacity to manage money, property and financial affairs.

Nellie Supports provides independent social work assessment, evidence and advocacy support. We do not provide regulated legal advice, and where a legal remedy is needed we will say so and support your solicitor's work.