IDEAL
was created in the 1990's primarily for use in cases involving elder
financial abuse and probate; however, it has since proven useful in
many types of cases involving excessive or inappropriate manipulation
tactics. It is taught in many
countries, and is the basis for the highly successful "Undue
Influence Worksheet." The
factors in IDEAL are:
Isolation
Dependency
Emotional
manipulation and/or Exploitation of a
weakness
Acquiescence
Loss
“Isolation”
– This refers to isolation from pertinent information, friends,
relatives, or usual advisors. Causes include: medical disorders; a
history of poor relationships with others; perpetrator interference;
geographic changes (e.g. travel); and technological isolation (e.g.
loss of telephone services).
“Dependency”
- This refers to dependence upon the perpetrator, such as for physical
support, emotional factors, or information.
“Emotional
manipulation” or “Exploitation of a weakness” - This often manifests as
a combination of promises and threats regarding either issues of safety
and security, or companionship and friendship. Perpetrators sometimes
make use of victim weakness or vulnerabilities. It is not unusual to
encounter cases in which, for example, a perpetrator provides alcohol
to an alcoholic, or has him execute documents despite knowing that the
victim is mentally impaired due to acute or long-term effects of
alcohol; having a vision-impaired person sign a legal document; or
misrepresenting documents and their consequences to the cognitively
impaired.
“Acquiescence”
- This refers to the victim’s apparent consent or submission. The act
is not truly voluntary, but is instead the product of inaccurate,
misleading or deceptive information that is believed due to the
victim’s impairments and/or relationship with the perpetrator.
“Loss”
- This refers to damages, such as inter vivos
financial loss.
Other
methods of assessing undue influence:
Watch video lectures about
undue influence.
