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Many people with impaired decision-making capacity are capable of making most, or at least some, of the decisions that affect their lives. When the decision-making capacity is seriously impaired, this will mean that certain decisions may have to be made by others.
The problem that arises is that no one has an automatic right to make decisions on behalf of another adult, no matter how closely the two are related. The decision-maker must be legally authorised to act on behalf of the person with impaired decision-making capacity before the decisions can have any legal effect.
