DISPUTES ARISING OVER ESTATES
WILL CONTESTS
Undue Influence - (1) vulnerability of the victim, (2) apparent authority of the wrongdoer, (3) actions and tactics of the wrongdoer, and (4) an inequitable result.
Fraud or Forgery or Alteration
Lacking the legal mental capacity - onr unable to make decisions.
TRUST DISPUTES
Accounting of Trusts
Removal of Trustees
Termination of Trusts
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Trust Reformation
Scrivener’s error - where the Will or Trust had a mistake making it nonsensical; incomplete; or contradicting itself.
Fraud - such as altering or forging a Will or Trust
Undue Influence -
Undue influence exists if a person used a position of power over the deceased to “influence” that person to change the Will/Trust to benefit the person with the power in a way that the deceased otherwise would not have done.
Opportunity; Coercion; Deceit; Deception; Manipulation; Threats; Isolation from Loved ones; Control over the testator; False Promises; etc.
Who met with the estate attorney to draft the Will?
Who communicated with the Estate attorney for the terms of the Will/Trust?
Who was with decedent when the Will/Trust was executed?
Did the decedent take themselves to attorney to execute the instrument?
Did they read it?
Mental and/or Physical Abuse
Lacking Capacity - from illness like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease among others that cause cognitive impairment.
In order to prove lack of capacity, there must be evidence of the decedent's mental state, showing that there is evidence that the decedent (testator) lacked one or more of following:
Did decedent know the bounty of their estate or what he owned or possessed
The precise nature and provisions of the will
The nature, extent, and condition of his or her assets and property
Did the decedent know who would be the individuals who would inherit their estate
*evidence about a person’s cognitive and memory decline; lack of comprehension; and judgment; and inability to communicate show circumstantial evidence of Diminished Capacity with can be coupled with undue influence. The greater the decedent’s impairment the less undue influence is needed to prove undue influence.
The Alzheimer’s Association has provided 10 early signs of dementia that may merit a visit to a doctor for further testing:
Memory loss that disrupts daily life;
Challenges in planning or solving problems;
Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at
work, or at leisure;
Confusion with time or place;
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial
relationships;
New problems with words in speaking or writing;
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace
steps;
Withdrawal from work or social activities;
Decreased or poor judgment; and/or
Changes in mood and personality.
See “10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s” at https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs
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