The first fortnight: triage, not architecture
While the medical picture is forming, resist legal permanence. The immediate needs are narrow: essential bills kept flowing (direct debits usually carry on; where an account is blocked, see the frozen account guide for lawful interim routes), employers and insurers notified, and any existing instruments located — an EPA in a drawer changes the whole path, so check before anyone starts court papers. What not to do: move their money through your account, sign in their name, or make big decisions that can wait for clarity.
Capacity here is often partial — and often improves
Brain injury and stroke produce profiles dementia doesn't: capacity lost in some domains and kept in others, communication impaired while understanding survives (the functional test counts assisted communication as communication), and genuine prospects of recovery. The legal response should match: arrangements scoped to the decisions actually affected, built to be unwound or stepped down as recovery progresses — the Act's review machinery is made for exactly this. An assessment done in week two binds nobody in month six.
When court is needed
If significant decisions can't wait and can't be made even with support — the mortgage, a business, litigation about the accident itself — a DMR application scoped to the genuine needs is the route, and urgency can be accommodated where facts demand it. Where the injury involves a compensation claim, coordinate early: the capacity arrangement, the litigation, and the eventual management of any award are one plan, not three (how applications work).
If recovery comes
Arrangements should retreat as capacity returns — review, variation and discharge are rights, not favours, and a person who has recovered is entitled to their affairs back without drama. And for the household that has just learned how suddenly life pivots: once the crisis settles, do the planning the crisis found missing — for both of you, while it's easy. That conversation is a calmer one, and we're glad to have it: 01 5827148.
How our fees work
You get a fixed quote in writing before any work starts — no hourly-rate surprises. If the scope changes, the quote is revised in writing before we continue. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement. How costs work in capacity matters →
Frequently asked questions
My husband had a stroke and can't speak. Does he lack capacity?
Not necessarily — communication difficulty is not incapacity, and the test requires supports including assisted communication to be tried. Many stroke patients decide perfectly well through speech therapy tools, writing or yes/no systems. Assessment should meet him where he is, with time and the right supports.
Can I access his salary and accounts while he's in hospital?
Not on marriage alone — you need an authority route: an activated EPA if one exists, or interim and then formal arrangements under the Act. Meanwhile, essentials can usually be kept flowing lawfully — ring us before improvising, because the improvisations are what cause later trouble.
The injury was from an accident and there's a claim. Does that change anything?
It adds a layer: litigation needs its own capacity arrangements, and any award needs managed structures. Capacity practice and injury litigation must coordinate — our injury colleagues and this practice work these cases together.
Talk to a solicitor who works with families through capacity law every week. Call Mary Molloy Solicitors today.
Whether you are planning ahead, facing a capacity application, or simply unsure which arrangement your family needs, an early conversation costs little and prevents a lot.
📞 Call 01 5827148Try the Decision Support Pathway Finder
richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · Dublin: The Ormond Building, 31–36 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7, D07 EE37 · Kilkenny: 2 Rose Inn Street, Kilkenny, R95 W58D
Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM — out of hours appointments available