Screening Experts
Who can you believe?
Many professionals can assess mental capacity issues. Few can assess undue influence.
A growing number of people claim to be experts at assessing undue influence - and although
many of these self-proclaimed "experts" are well-intentioned, most are not experts. They may be excellent
physicians or therapists, but few are actually trained to evaluate undue influence. This point must be
emphasized: Even professionals who have testified on this issue need to be screened. Many do not know
the models or current practices - or they know only 1 or 2 methods. This is unacceptable if your case is important
or complex. Screen all “experts” carefully.
Basic
questions:
1) What specific training have you had that qualifies you as an expert? A related
question is: Has your work been supervised or evaluated by known experts in the field of undue influence assessment?
2) What specific experience do you have? (You are looking for training and continuing education - not
merely the quantity of testimony.)
3) What articles/chapters/books/lectures, etc., have
you written/given on this topic? (Again, many "experts" have written articles - but not on undue influence.)
