Objective: As the percentage of old people increases and as the wealth of the United States increasingly is concentrated in the hands of the elderly, there will be more financially substantive estates to be passed down to heirs when an older person dies. In the considerable majority of circumstances, the funds are left to natural heirs in equal amounts, and the wills are not contested.
However, in a growing number of situations elderly people leave their estates to non-natural heirs. In certain circumstances, they also suffer from cognitive impairment.
Design: 60 relevant cases involving testamentary capacity or undue influence were reviewed. The issues related to a will challenge at different ages are elucidated, as well as the outcomes. Overlapping concepts from different states will be reviewed, in addition to differences from state to state.
Further, relevance of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, the presence of insane delusions, and the “Dead Man’s Act” are reviewed.
Conclusion: Cognitive impairment, in of its self, is not a reason to invalidate an executed will. However, those people with advancing dementia are increasingly vulnerable to impaired judgment, as well as vulnerability to undue influence. Based on review of the above literature, there are specific recommendations regarding the future of psychogeriatric research.
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