Adults generally have the legal right to establish an estate plan. They may do so because they worry about their loved ones or because they have specific intentions for their property. Theoretically, testators drafting wills have total control over the terms that they set.
So long as they comply with state law, they can decide who inherits from their estate and also who serves as their personal representative. However, not all adults retain control over their estate plans. Instead, they may end up falling victim to undue influence. Someone else uses their relationship with the testator to manipulate them into making estate planning changes.
Who might be at risk of another person exerting undue influence on them during the estate planning process?
Undue influence requires vulnerability
Most of the time, adults don’t give much weight to the wishes of others when thinking about their own legacies. However, sometimes they are vulnerable to pressure from other people. Typically, that vulnerability relates to advanced age, social isolation or serious medical challenges.
Older adults may face mobility challenges or might lose their driver’s licenses. They then become dependent on family members and caregivers for basic matters like buying groceries. They may have limited social interaction and feel compelled to maintain relationships with specific people.
People with significant medical challenges can also be vulnerable to undue influence at any age. Those who rely on a caregiver to take care of their home, administer their medication or assist them with basic hygiene matters may feel incredibly anxious about upsetting or alienating the person on whom they depend.
Undue influence almost always comes from individuals in the inner circle of a vulnerable adult or someone tasked with providing them with crucial forms of care. Family members and caregivers can coerce or manipulate older adults into creating an estate plan or modifying an existing one for their personal benefit. In scenarios where people can prove that a beneficiary of an estate was in a position to exert undue influence, they may be able to convince the courts to set aside a questionable will.
Using probate litigation to push back against undue influence can uphold a deceased person’s true legacy intentions. Family members and beneficiaries may need to speak up if they believe a caregiver abused their authority in this way.
