Committee of Estate

Committee of Estate

Nature 

A committee appointed under the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap. 136) is appointed for the primary purpose of managing and administering the property and affairs of a mentally incapacitated person. The prime concern is “property and affairs”. In contrast with a guardian, who is allowed to hold, receive or pay a specified sum up to a maximum of HK$20,000 per month, the committee has the wider power to control and manage the property of a mentally incapacitated person, including the transfer, vesting, sale, charging or acquisition of such property, as ordered by the Court.

A committee, however, does not have the power to authorize or consent to any medical or dental treatment, or make any decision regarding the residence of the mentally incapacitated person. But the management of the property and affairs of a mentally incapacitated person cannot be wholly segregated from the care and treatment of the person. A committee certainly has the power to make payments to elderly homes and to settle hospital bills. Thus, a committee can indirectly decide which elderly home or which hospital a mentally incapacitated person is admitted to.

Overall, it would be fair to say that a committee is more appropriate for mentally incapacitated persons who are relatively well-off.