Undue
Influence in Litigation
Disputes
involving wills and trusts, pre-nuptial agreements, elder abuse,
domestic violence, fraud and financial exploitation, many sexual
offenses; and, occasionally, homicide - often involve issues of
coercion, duress, inappropriate manipulation and undue
influence. If you work on such cases, the "Undue Influence
Worksheet" may be of help.
Since its release in 2002,
the "Worksheet" has been used by hundreds of lawyers, Court
investigators, law enforcement personnel, and Adult Protective Services
evaluators.
The "Worksheet" is
essentially a database that helps clarify complex situations.
Users are given a brief review of five main categorical headings and
several subdivisions, a sample case, and blank pages for your own
case. A software version is planned that will further
simplify the process of data input. The "Worksheet" is a
qualitative tool, so there is no score. The document
clarifies for the user whether excessive manipulation is present, and,
based upon current understanding of perpetrator tactics and behavior,
its specific form. As a tool, the conclusions of the
"Worksheet" are always subservient to local statutes and case law;
nonetheless, this method of analysis has proven to be so effective that
it is used in several countries in addition to the United
States.
The "Worksheet" is based
upon the IDEAL protocol, which combines knowledge from the fields of
psychiatry, psychology, and sociology regarding the mechanisms of human
manipulation, with extensive review of statutes, case law, and legal
theory. IDEAL describes those psychological and social
factors that commonly co-exist in undue influence situations.
These factors are:
Isolation
Dependency
Emotional
manipulation and/or Exploitation of vulnerability
Acquiescence
Loss
Click here to download a
copy of the Undue Influence Worksheet.
Click here to download a
copy of an article about undue influence and the IDEAL model.
Click here to learn
more about mental capacity.
Click here to learn about finding experts on
undue influence.
