Dr. Bennett Blum
Tucson, AZ 85749-9399
Rabbi Bennett Blum, M.D. is an internationally acclaimed physician specializing in forensic and geriatric psychiatry. He is an expert on the detection and impact of psychological manipulation tactics used by offenders to exploit vulnerable adults and the elderly. He has served as an expert witness and litigation consultant on more than one thousand cases involving contested Wills, elder abuse, testamentary capacity, and undue influence claims throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. In addition, Dr. Blum also worked on the criminal trials of Susan Smith, Andrea Yates, Theresa Ramirez, and Linda Giles; the civil litigation regarding Merrill-Lynch and the Orange County bankruptcy, and the civil lawsuit against O.J. Simpson. Internationally, Dr. Blum testified in the precedent-setting United Nations trial of General Pavle Strugar - the first full competency hearing before an international war crimes tribunal since Nuremberg. In 2022, Dr. Blum worked with UN prosecutors from International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) during the hearings regarding the competency of Mr. Felicien Kabuga to stand trial for his purported role in the Rawandan genocide.
Dr. Blum’s pioneering assessment techniques are taught in law schools and medical training programs throughout much of the Western Hemisphere. In addition, Dr. Blum’s work has been promoted by many international and US-based organizations, including: The United Nations and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; US State Department and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Spanish Society of Legal Psychiatry; the World Psychiatric Association; the British Columbia Law Institute; the American Bar Association; the National College of Probate Judges; the National College of District Attorneys; the National District Attorneys Association; the Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel; and the National Guardianship Association. Dr. Blum is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
Dr. Blum's work first received national attention when he was the only mental health expert asked to testify at the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation's 1999 hearing on Fraud: Targeting America's Seniors. In 2005, Dr. Blum participated in an invitation-only policy development conference for the White House Conference on Aging, and in 2006, his work became part of a nationwide training project entitled "Undue Influence: The Criminal Justice Response." In 2009, the US State Department sponsored training by Dr. Blum to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the topics of diminished capacity and undue influence/psychological coercion evaluation in war crime litigation. Dr. Blum served on the Board of Directors for the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse from 2011-2018.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of University of Arizona, Dr. Blum received his medical education from the University of Arizona and psychiatric training at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His work has been published by the National College of Probate Judges, State Bar Associations, and in major medical textbooks such as Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, which has included his work in their editions for more than 18 years. Internationally, his work is profiled in the French elder-abuse text Douze Geriatres en Colere. Dr. Blum’s IDEAL model has been taught in several law schools, including University of Denver Sturm College of Law; University of Chicago School of Law; and Stetson University College of Law. The IDEAL model is also described in the American Bar Association’s text Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacity: A Handbook for Psychologists, which lists it as one of the methods to be used when evaluating claims of undue influence.
- Competency
- Forensic Psychiatry
- Geriatric Psychiatry
- Geriatrics
- Neuropsychiatry
- Psychiatry
- Spousal Abuse
- Testamentary Capacity
- Undue Influence
- Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
- A: MD - University of Arizona (1990)
Psychiatry Residency - UCLA/San Fernando Valley (1990-1994)
Fellowship (Forensic Psychiatry) - UCLA Forensic Psychiatry Program (1994-1995)
Fellowship (Geriatric Psychiatry) - UCLA Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program (1995-1997) - Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:
- A: American Academy of Forensic Sciences
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
American Medical Association
American Psychiatric Association
Arizona Psychiatric Society
- Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:
- A: Clinical Associate Professor (2016-Present)
Department of Psychiatry
University of Arizona College of Medicine
Tucson, AZ
Partial List of Lectures (2018-2022):
“Forensic Evaluation: Vulnerability to Undue Influence” (March 2022)
Part of “Estate and Probate CLE: The 2022 Annual Estate/Probate and Trust Seminar:
Covering Your Assets: New Topics You Won’t Want to Miss”
Palm Beach County Bar Association
West Palm Beach, Florida
“Undue Influence – History and Assessment” (June 2021)
Part of “Undue Influence and Professional Misconduct.”
2021 AZ State Bar Convention
State Bar of Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
“What and How of Financial Exploitation” (with Sally Hurme, JD) (August 2020)
Part of “Guardianship in Action: Protecting Rights and Preventing Harm”
New Mexico Guardianship Association 2020 Virtual Symposium
Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Forensic Evaluation: Vulnerability to Undue Influence” (December 2018)
Part of “I'm Not Dead Yet and I May Need That Money! Financial Exploitation and Undue Influence of Vulnerable Adults”
State Bar of Arizona, Probate and Trust Section - CLE Seminar
Phoenix, Arizona
- Q: Have any of your accreditations ever been investigated, suspended or removed? (if yes, explain)
- A: No
- Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
- A: Elder abuse, Will and Trust contests, testamentary capacity, undue influence, professional malpractice, war crimes, psychological manipulation and/or torture, capacity to stand trial, contractual capacity, competency
- Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the plaintiff?
- A: ~60-70%
- Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the defendant?
- A: ~30-40%
- Q: On how many occasions have you had your deposition taken?
- A: More than 45 as of January 2023 (does not include deposition testimony given during forensic fellowship).
- Q: When was the last time you had your deposition taken?
- A: Dec. 2022
- Q: On how many occasions have you been qualified by a court to give expert testimony?
- A: More than 40 as of January 2023 (does not include trial testimony given during forensic fellowship).
- Q: On how many occasions have you testified as an expert in court or before an arbitrator?
- A: Approx. 40 as of January 2023 (does not include forensic fellowship).
- Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?
- A: 29 years
- Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)
- A: Consulting and expert witness
- Q: What is your hourly rate to consult with an attorney?
- A: Contact the office regarding fees.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to review documents?
- A: Contact the office regarding fees.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide deposition testimony?
- A: Contact the office regarding fees.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide testimony at trial?
- A: Contact the office regarding fees.
- Q: Please list any fees other than those stated above (E.g.: travel expenses, copy fees, etc.)
- A: Contact the office regarding fees.
Available Upon Request