Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

Persons “unconnected with” a person

304.—(1) For the purposes of this Act a person (“B”) is “unconnected with” another person (“A”) unless—

(a) B receives any payments made on account of A’s maintenance, or has an interest in the receipt of any such payments;

(b) B is A’s spouse, civil partner, parent, child, brother, sister, mother-in law, father-in law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law or brother-in-law;

(c) B is living with A as if he or she were A’s spouse or civil partner and has been so living for a period of at least 6 months;

(d) B is someone with whom A lives and has been living for a period of at least 5 years; or

(e) A is living in a relevant place and, at the time when A started living in the relevant place—

(i) B had been living with A as if he or she were A’s spouse or civil partner for a period of at least 6 months; or

(ii) B was a person with whom A had been living for a period of at least 5 years.

(2) In subsection (1)(e) “relevant place” means—

(a) a hospital;

(b) a care home; or

(c) a place of a prescribed description.