Dr. Sandford I. Finkel

As the number of people above the age of 85 rises from three million in 1990 to the projected figure of eight million in 2020, experts in geriatrics and geriatric psychiatry are becoming increasingly important. One thoughtleading expert, Dr. Sanford Finkel, is well aware of the significance of this trend, particularly with regard to the growing number of contested wills.

“We are experiencing an unprecedented transfer of wealth from the elderly generation to its baby boomer progeny. The current elderly possess substantial assets — appreciated homes, farmland and equities,” Dr. Finkel wrote in an article published in Trust & Estates Magazine. “The fact that people are living longer means that more will die with dementing (demented) illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as other medical, neurological and psychiatric illnesses. Thus, we can assume that there will be a concomitant increase in the number of contested wills.”

However, because most attorneys have limited knowledge when it comes to geriatrics and the diseases most associated with the elderly, more and more legal professionals are turning to Dr. Finkel for his extensive experience with the legality of such issues. A Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Chicago Medical School, Dr. Finkel is also an active clinician who has engaged in major research in the field of geriatric psychiatry. He also provides expert witness testimony and consulting advice in dozens of will contests where he has “seen firsthand the problems and pitfalls attorneys face in the drafting and litigation of wills.”

In addition to having written over 100 journal articles and book chapters and delivered numerous lectures on the topic, Dr. Finkel recently published an article called "Pitfalls in Litigating a Contested Will" in Family Law Newsletter, published by the American Association of Justice. He has also shared his expertise via a leadership role in the last three White House Conferences on Aging. Finally, the fact that Dr. Finkel founded the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry and co-founded the International Psychogeriatric Association only solidifies his high standing as a thoughtleader in the field of geriatrics.

If there’s any doubt as to the importance of experts like Dr. Finkel in the coming decades, just consider the following fact and his assessment of the associated consequences: “Over 70 percent of the country’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of those over 50, with three quarters of older men and women owning the homes where they live. We are about to view the largest transfer of assets from one generation to another in world history.”

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