TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Last wills and testaments in a large sample of suicide notes: implications for testamentary capacity
JO  - British journal of psychiatry
A1  - Sinyor, Mark
A1  - Schaffer, Ayal
A1  - Hull, Ian
A1  - Peisah, Carmelle
A1  - Shulman, Kenneth
SP  - 72
EP  - 76
VL  - 206
IS  - 1
N2  - Background The leaving of a will prior to death by suicide is a relatively unexplored area. Aims To determine the frequency and details of will content in suicide notes. <br><br>METHOD Coroner records for 1565 deaths by suicide in Toronto (2003-2009) were reviewed for (a) will content and (b) the presence of depression, psychotic illness, dementia and intoxication prior to death. <br><br>RESULTS In total, 59 (20.7%) of 285 available suicide notes were found to have will content. Of those who left a will, 43 (72.9%) were reported to have a major mood or psychotic disorder, but none had dementia. Fifteen of 19 toxicology samples showed alcohol, sedative hypnotic/benzodiazepine, opioid and/or recreational drugs were present. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS A substantial minority of suicide notes may also include testamentary intent. The observed high rate of mental illness and substance use around the time of death has important clinical implications for understanding the mindset of people who die by suicide and hence also legal implications regarding testamentary capacity.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0007-1250
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.114.145722
ID  - ref1
ER  -