and coronial inquiries. This Chapter is not intended as legal advice. Rather, we hope to offer some important advice on how to safeguard your death while ensuring its aftermath is as least traumatic for all concerned.
Do You have the Mental Capacity to Die?
One important factor in dying is ensuring you have the mental capacity to do so. If you have been diagnosed with dementia, for example, the authorities may try to prosecute those left behind. That is, if you were not able to make the decision for yourself, did your friends or family coerce you or decide for you that now was the time for you to die?
Indeed, in conventional medical circles, open talk about taking your own life can lead a person to be being certified as lacking mental capacity. The mere mention of suicide is considered a symptom of a deeper underlying psychiatric illness (eg. depression). While there are some studies that suggest that some suicides are the result of acting rationally, this point of view is not widely accepted, at least within the medical profession. See: http://bit.ly/CanSuicideBeRational
