WHAT IS CURATORSHIP?


DISCLAIMER: Please note that this overview is written by Dr. Ross as a medical person, not a lawyer. It is a brief overview to help you understand what curatorship is about.

  • What: Curatorship is a legal process that is put in place when a person with dementia cannot manage financial and/or personal decisions anymore. So due to the dementia, the person has not got the cognitive or brain capacity to handle money and make reasonable financial and personal decisions.
  • When to do the curatorship will depend on
    • the type and duration of dementia
    • the MOCA/ MMSE score.
    • if the person with dementia is at risk of financial abuse
    • if the person with dementia has shown that he/ she is making bad or reckless financial decisions
    • what the person with dementia is worth financially. Usually a curatorship is only appointed if the person is worth more than R200 000 or earns more than R24 000 per year.
  • The person with dementia does not need to give permission to the family member to apply for a curatorship
  • How: usually a family member makes the application though an attorney. This application is presented to the High Court. The application supported by
    • an affidavit of a least one person who knows the incapacitated person well.
    • Affidavits by at least 2 medical practitioners, one of whom should be a psychiatrist.
  • The Judge then appoints a
    • Curator ad litem: this is an advocate who investigates the application for the High Court. S/he makes sure it is valid and all the information is correct and true.
    • Curator personae (CP): this is usually a close family member or social worker who then makes decisions regarding the personal and health affairs of the incapacitated person
    • Curator bonis (CB): this person manages the incapacitated person’s financial, property and business affairs. (usually non-family)
    • Usually both the CP and CB are appointed at the same time. sometimes the CB is only necessary.
  • The curatorship is strictly monitored and audited and both curators need to report back to the high court periodically.
  • The curatorship can be terminated by the high court too.
  • Cost: it is expensive, > R30- 40 000 to have a curatorship appointed. The curators are also paid to do their jobs. These costs are carried by the estate of the person with dementia.
  • After the curatorship has been appointed,
    • the person with dementia will have no control over his/ her money nor financial decisions. The curator will act in their best interest with input from the family if possible.
    • If the spouse is financially dependent on the person with dementia’s estate, this will be taken into account during the curatorship process and managed appropriately in the spouse’s best interests too