Is Joe Biden Of Sound Enough Mind To Sign A Will?

Brief synopsis: Sound mind is a legal determination first made by your lawyer. You need to be of sound mind to write a will, otherwise the will is invalid.

For the answer on whether or not Joe Biden is of sound mind, skip to the bottom of this blog.

What is “sound mind”

In laymans terms, “sound mind” is probably best described as: exactly what it sounds like.

The law is shrouded in legal jargon. This is probably to maintain the status quo with regards to job security in the legal field. If law made too much sense, there’d be no reason to have lawyers.

What I’m getting at is this: don’t over think the term “sound mind.” Most of know what it means to be of sound mind. For example, this NPR poll found that 60% of people think President Joe Biden is not of sound mind.

That being said, here is the legal definition of what it means to be of “sound mind” in Connecticut. (Note: Massachusetts has a very similar, basically identical definition of sound mind as do most states)

Sound mind: “…Mind and memory sound enough to know and understand the business upon which she (the writer of the will) was engaged, that of the execution of a will, at the very time she executed it…. Whether she measured up to this test is a question of fact for the trier.”

In other words, did she know what she was doing, yes or no? Did she understand and comprehend the nature of her bounty, the beneficiaries involved, and the nature of the business upon which she was conducting.

How To Prove (or Disprove) Mental Soundness

Case 1: In a Connecticut case called Holloway v. Carvalho, there was a guy who was diagnosed with Dementia. His doctor said that the dude sometimes didn’t know where he was, and had trouble recalling events.

He also had multiple “infarcts” (dead brain tissue) in his brain, including scarring on his frontal lobe – in other words, he was literally a little bit brain dead. His doctor also testified he had slurred speech.

So far, so bad. Not lookin’ good for this guy. It seems like he can’t possibly be of sound mind, right?

Well, they had another doctor testify and they also introduced overwhelming evidence that his brain scarring was minimal, he was frequently left alone by his caretakers, he lived on his own, he knew all the members of his family, took all the medications that his family members set out for him and competently engaged in grocery shopping with their assistance, and that in that he frequented a gym, enjoyed socializing with others, and loved watching television, particularly “Judge Judy.”

Ultimately, the court decided that he was of sound mind when he wrote his will.

The determination is up to the trier of facts. Given all that information it was believed that he was more likely than not capable of understanding the will that he signed.

Case 2: Here’s another case to show an example of someone not being of sound mind.

Another Connecticut case, a woman wrote her will and her soundness of mind was questioned. She had lung cancer which metasticized to her brain, she was nonverbal, the will was not read aloud to her, and she didn’t understand her relationships with the people she listed as beneficiaries in her will. Additionally, there wasn’t any convincing evidence that she WAS of sound mind.

Given all that information, it was decided that she was not of sound mind.

The Role Of A LAwyer In Determining Sound Mind

Lawyers aren’t formally trained to evaluate soundness of mind. The question is a legal one, meaning that the lawyer makes the initial call as to whether or not a person has a sound enough mind to write their will. Once that client steps into your office, it’s your job as a lawyer to evaluate them and consider whether or not they are of sound mind.

Soundness of mind is not a medical or psychological condition. As you’ve seen, you can have dead brain tissue in your noggin and still be of sound mind.

If there’s ever a question of sound mind, lawyers may be asked to testify as to why they made the determination of sound mind at the will signing. That’s why I always take notes after the will signing and recap my thoughts on the person’s soundness of mind if there was any question of it. However, I will not allow someone to draft a will unless I believe they are of sound mind.

IS JOE biden of sound mind?

The question of sound mind is first broached with the lawyer. If the lawyer does not believe the person is of sound mind, typically the lawyer will turn them away and say “I can’t do your will.”

Joe Biden displayed some concerning behavior at his debate that might be instructive when diagnosing his soundness of mind.

If Joe were in my office struggling to identify his many assets, struggling to identify his beneficiaries, and regularly losing his train of thought, I might not do his will.

Based off his conduct at the debate alone, all I can say is that I’d definitely want to spend more time with him to make an evaluation. There was enough mental haziness for me to have some concerns.

But I’m sure if he had a long conversation with me he’d be able to accurately identify his assets and beneficiaries, which is one of the most important factors when determining sound mind.

However, just because I think Joe Biden is of sound mind doesn’t mean he actually is.

Remember, soundness of mind is a question of law for the trier of fact. That means that when his will is first introduced into probate, a judge will be the trier of fact and decided whether the facts show that Biden is of sound mind.

However, look at the evidence.

Positive evidence that could be brought forth is this: He’s president, he’s engaging in global negotiations, he cares for himself, he keeps to a schedule, he knows his family and beneficiaries, he knows his staff, he works full time (though some might dispute that), he knows where he is, he understands his role as president, and his doctor recently evaluated him and said he’s healthy and vigorous.

Negative evidence would be: He stutters, he slurs his words, he’s 80 years old (that’s not a determinatve factor but it’s a factor nonetheless), he falls down, he has trouble organizing his thoughts, he trips, he’s uncoordinated at times, he utters nonsense sometimes, he can be disoriented, he is affectionate with children in a socially odd way.

Ultimately the question would be: if you were on a jury, given these factors.. would you say he’s of sound mind?

I think some lawyers in the USA would not consider him to be sound mind.