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PETITIONER SOUGHT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HIS DECEASED MOTHER DID NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO EXECUTE A DOCUMENT DESIGNATING RESPONDENT AS HER AGENT TO CONTROL THE DISPOSITION OF HER REMAINS; PETITIONER SUBMITTED PROOF HIS MOTHER HAD BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH DEMENTIA, BUT DEMENTIA IS NOT THE EQUIVALENT OF INCOMPETENCE OR INCAPACITY; THE PETITION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, held that the petition pursuant to Public Health Law 4201 for a determination concerning the disposition of petitioner’s deceased mother’s remains should have been dismissed. The deceased was also the mother of the respondent in this action. The issue was whether the deceased had the capacity to execute a document designating the respondent as her agent to control the disposition of her remains. The proceeding under the Public Health Law is handled like a motion for summary judgment. Although petitioner demonstrated his mother was diagnosed with dementia in 2014, dementia is not the equivalent of incompetence:

Every dispute relating to the disposition of the remains of a decedent shall be resolved . . . pursuant to a special proceeding” (Public Health Law § 4201 [8]). Upon the return date of the petition in a special proceeding, “[t]he court shall make a summary determination upon the pleadings, papers and admissions to the extent that no triable issues of fact are raised,” and “may make any orders permitted on a motion for summary judgment” (CPLR 409 [b] …). “[E]very hearing of a special proceeding is equivalent to the hearing of a motion for summary judgment” … . …

Even assuming, arguendo, that the heightened contractual capacity standard is applicable in this case … , we conclude that petitioner failed to establish that the decedent was incapable “of comprehending and understanding the nature of the transaction at issue” … .  Although petitioner submitted evidence establishing that the decedent had been diagnosed with dementia in 2014, “there is no presumption that a person suffering from dementia is wholly incompetent” … . “Rather, it must be demonstrated that, because of the affliction, the individual was incompetent at the time of the challenged transaction” … . Here, petitioner failed to set forth any evidence that the decedent was without capacity to execute the designating document in September 2017 … . Matter of Hurlbut v Leo M. Bean Funeral Home, Inc., 2022 NY Slip Op 04439, Fourth Dept 7-8-22

Practice Point: A proceeding pursuant to the Public Health Law to determine the disposition of the remains of a decedent is in the nature of a special proceeding and is handled like a summary judgment motion. Here the petitioner did not raise a question of fact about whether the decedent had the capacity to designate the respondent as her agent to control the disposition of her remains. Proof decedent had been diagnosed with dementia did not raise a question of fact about decedent’s competence or capacity.

 

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