When a loved one’s will suddenly favors one person, families often suspect someone pressured them into it. In Texas, that is called undue influence, and it is one of the most common grounds for a will contest. Chris Hodge and Jobe Jackson, Shareholders at Langley & Banack, focus their practice on estate, trust, and fiduciary litigation, including will contests. Here they explain what undue influence is, what it looks like, and how it is proven.
On this page
- What is undue influence in a will contest?
- What does undue influence over a will look like?
- What are the warning signs that someone was unduly influenced to change their will?
- Who is most vulnerable to undue influence?
- What evidence is used to prove undue influence in a will contest?
- Is it undue influence if a family member simply asked to be included?
- Does someone with power of attorney face extra scrutiny in a will contest?
What is undue influence in a will contest?
Undue influence is the use of pressure or manipulation to overpower a person’s own wishes, so that their will reflects someone else’s intentions instead of their own. In Texas, a will can be set aside for undue influence if it would not have been signed but for that influence.
Undue influence is the existence and exercise of an influence on the person that operated to subvert or overpower their mind at the time the will was executed, such that the will would not have been signed but for that influence. It is a broad term, and things like fraud, deceit, and duress can all come into play as a subset of it. One thing to understand is that it is not as if someone has to be holding a gun to the person’s head to make them sign. There is a lot more that goes into it than that one moment.
What does undue influence over a will look like?
Undue influence often looks like a caregiver or relative who gradually turns the person against the rest of the family and then ends up favored in a new will. It can happen fast, in a vulnerable moment, or slowly, over a long pattern of conduct.
One of the examples that comes up a lot in our practice is caregivers. Say a caregiver is a son or a daughter, and they have siblings who live elsewhere, and they are the one caring for mom and dad. At some point they may feel they should be benefited for doing that, so they have mom or dad sign a new will that leaves them more, or cuts the siblings out.
More often than not in these cases, there is also some sort of relationship poisoning going on. The person trying to overpower the mind of the will maker is also working to poison that person’s relationships with their other relatives, to get the inheritance those relatives would otherwise have received. Undue influence can happen quickly, like forcing someone to sign a will when they are in a vulnerable state, or it can happen over a long period, where one person close to the decedent, through a pattern of conduct, ends up favored over the rest of the family.
What are the warning signs that someone was unduly influenced to change their will?
Common warning signs include an estate plan that changes late in life to reduce or cut out certain people, a caregiver or relative who isolates the person from family, and a new will that departs sharply from what the person always said they wanted.
A big one is an estate plan that had been stable for years, often an equal split among children, that changes late in life to reduce or cut out one or more people. When that happens, we look at who was in close proximity to the person and whether they had the opportunity to influence that change. Relationship poisoning is another sign, where one person works to turn the will maker against the rest of the family. Those are the kinds of patterns that lead people to investigate whether a change was the result of undue influence.
Who is most vulnerable to undue influence?
People in a weakened mental or physical state are the most vulnerable to undue influence, because a diminished condition makes it harder to resist pressure. Memory problems and conditions like dementia increase that vulnerability.
Someone who is susceptible to undue influence often has some mental or memory issues that make them more likely to be taken advantage of. A person in a diminished mental or physical state is usually much more susceptible, because they do not have the ability to resist the influence. That is why these cases so often involve the same medical and memory issues we see in capacity cases.
What evidence is used to prove undue influence in a will contest?
Undue influence is almost always proven with circumstantial evidence built up over time, since direct proof is rare. Medical records, financial records, and testimony about the relationship and the person’s condition are used to show that the influence overpowered their mind.
Most of the evidence about undue influence is circumstantial. You rarely have direct evidence, like someone holding a gun to the person’s head. A lot of it is circumstantial, and you have to surmise that over a long time, or a course of dealing, the influence became so strong that it subverted the person’s mind. A lot of the same evidence we use for a capacity challenge, especially the medical evidence, is relevant here too, because someone in a diminished state is more susceptible to undue influence.
Is it undue influence if a family member simply asked to be included?
No. Simply asking to be included, or telling a parent you think you deserve more, is not undue influence. The influence has to rise to the level of overpowering the person’s mind, so that they would not have made the change but for that influence.
One of the elements of undue influence is the existence and exercise of an influence, but that by itself is not enough. The fact that a child or potential beneficiary discussed with a parent that they think they should inherit more for some reason, that is not enough. It has to be the kind of pressure that rises to the level of overpowering the person’s mind, to where they would not have made the change in their estate plan but for that influence.
Does someone with power of attorney face extra scrutiny in a will contest?
Yes. Texas law recognizes that an agent under a power of attorney holds a great deal of power over the principal, so if an estate plan changes to benefit an active power of attorney, Texas presumes undue influence.
Texas law recognizes that when someone holds a power of attorney, they have a great deal of power over the principal’s life, assets, and decision-making. Because of that important and special relationship, Texas law presumes undue influence if an estate plan is changed to benefit the person holding the power of attorney while that power of attorney is active.
Talk with our will contest attorneys
If you believe someone pressured or manipulated a loved one into changing their will, we would be glad to look at the situation with you. Undue influence cases are built from the facts of the relationship and the person’s condition, and the sooner we can start gathering that evidence, the better.
Chris Hodge and Jobe Jackson | Estate, Trust & Fiduciary Litigation | Langley & Banack, San Antonio, Texas
Call (210) 736-6600 or contact us through our website to request a consultation.
The information, opinions, and recommendations presented here are for information purposes only and should not be considered legal or professional advice for any particular situation. The presentation of this informational content does not create an attorney-client relationship.
