title: Commentary: Contested Wills and Will Contests.
abstract: When disinherited heirs challenge a will drafted by a person suspected of having dementia, a legal battle may ensue. The "lucid interval," a brief return to competence from a state of dementia, has been invoked in years past to establish the validity of contested wills. Shulman et al., having reviewed the medical and legal literature, make a convincing argument that no such period of competence occurs in the course of dementia. A neuropsychiatric autopsy is outlined in this commentary to provide a method of determining the validity of a last will and testament, by applying the clinical method described when witness statements do not provide accurate guidance.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Merikangas is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC. jmerikangas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Merikangas
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*