Pankauski Hauser limits its practice to estate litigation, trust litigation, guardianship litigation, and civil appeals. Although we are located in West Palm Beach, we handle matters throughout the entire state of Florida. Are you involved in an undue influence lawsuit in Florida? Are you involved in a will contest or trust contest? Are allegations of undue influence flying around?
Here are 4 things you may or may not know about undue influence:
- Undue influence is a species of fraud. This means that undue influence has to be plead or alleged, with specificity, in the complaint. You generally have to include who unduly influenced someone, who they unduly influenced, by what means, and what happened. If you don’t do that, what happens? You should ask your probate litigator for more details.
- Undue influence is often proven by circumstantial evidence. Is someone unduly influencing your mom or dad to change a bank account, make a gift, or change a will or trust? If you live thousands of miles away from your parents, you may not even know they are being unduly influenced at the time it occurs. Therefore, it is important to recognize that circumstantial evidence can help prove your case and make the wrongdoer found responsible.
- Undue influence is different than lack of capacity. When someone doesn’t have the ability to understand what they’re doing, and they sign a will, the will is void. Undue influence is different. Most probate lawyers would say that, generally, you can’t unduly influence someone who doesn’t have capacity. You can only unduly influence someone who has the capacity and the ability to be influenced. It is important to understand that undue influence and lack of mental capacity are very closely related. However, they are different concepts from both a medical and legal perspective.
- Undue influence conflicts often require trials. Florida probate trials involve calling witnesses, finding and presenting evidence, etc. You should understand how your West Palm Beach probate litigation team is going to assemble all of the necessary data. It is important to remember that a probate judge is not going to guess what happened. Therefore, if you’re trying to set aside a will, or object to a probate, you need evidence. You can’t just get in the probate court and have your great Florida probate litigator argue. Probate trials are, perhaps, more complex than most people realize.