Palm Beach Appeals Case: Proving Undue Influence

When determining if undue influence is afoot courts will look at   suspicious circumstances. Do you know what that means? Did you know it might go beyond the family dynamic and into who paid the attorneys for their services? Check out what happened in a case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeals a few months ago on March 18, 2015.

Suspicious Circumstances

• What is undue influence?
• A will is supposed to reflect the testamentary intent of the person drafting it, not other people.
• When a third party exercises influence over a party and how they write their will that is improper Palm Beach probate litigators call this undue influence.
• When determining if undue influence has occurred a Court will look to any suspicious circumstances.
• But what does that mean?
• Did a family member regularly control the testator?
• Did the person refuse to let the testator write the will without them present?
• Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know this is a big red flag for any probate court looking at undue influence.
• Did you know that it is also important who is paying for the attorney?
• What about the nature of the transaction?
• Check out what a Fourth District Court of Appeals court found suspicious regarding the retention of a probate attorney.

Blinn v. Carlman

• The court stated, “on April 2, 2008 a will was executed under most suspicious circumstances.” What does that mean?
• Apparently two lawyers were involved.
• A referring lawyer and a drafting lawyer both wound up in the opinion.
• The referring lawyer had minimal experience in Palm Beach estate planning and was a social friend of the decedent.
• In 2007 the appellant in the case (the wife) loaned the lawyer money that he was never asked to repay.
• Isn’t that called a gift or worse a bribe?
• The court sure thought so.
• It also did not like the fact that the testimony of the two lawyers did not match up!

Want to learn more? Check out the entire case by clicking here.