Undue Influence

What Is “Undue Influence”?

The relevant statute in the California Legal Code defines undue influence as “excessive persuasion that causes another person to act or refrain from acting by overcoming that person’s free will and results in inequity.”

“Undue influence” is often used as a claim to contest a Will or trust. In that context, it refers to cases where a sufficiently vulnerable person (who we will call “the victim”) has been pressured or coerced into changing their estate plan by someone with authority or influence over them—often a caretaker of some sort (who we will call “the abuser”). Usually, the changes benefit the abuser, and would not have been made otherwise by the victim.

How Do You Prove “Undue Influence” To Contest A Will Or Trust?

In Irvine, CA, in order to contest and seek to terminate or amend an estate planning document based on undue influence (be it a Will or a trust), you must prove the following:

• The victim was vulnerable: There are many factors that could make the victim vulnerable in this context, including but not limited to:
  • Illness
  • Advanced age
  • Incapacity
  • Disability
  • Injury
  • Lack of education
  • Reduced cognitive functioning
  • Emotional/psychological distress
  • Isolation
  • General dependency on the abuser.

It is also examined whether the abuser understood that the victim was vulnerable.

• The abuser had authority over the victim: While the abuser in “undue influence” cases is often a caretaker, this is not always the case. There are a number of other ways that an abuser could be considered to have authority over the victim, including but not limited to:
  • Status as a fiduciary/financial proxy
  • Being a relation/family member
  • Being a healthcare professional
  • Being a legal professional
  • Being a spiritual advisor or religious figure
  • Being a certified or alleged expert in any specific, relevant field
• Specific actions and tactics were used by the abuser to manipulate or coerce the victim: To prove undue control, you have to show that the abuser employed specific actions or tactics to influence or exert undue control over the victims. Common examples of actions/tactics used in these cases include, but are not limited to:

• • Controlling access to the necessities of daily life
  • Controlling sleep
  • Controlling medication and medical care
  • Controlling interactions with and access to others
  • Isolating the victim from their friends, loved ones, or community
  • Poisoning the relationship between the victim and those they were close to previously (especially family)
  • Controlling the victim’s access to information
  • Initiating changes in the victim’s rights to their personal property (with added emphasis if the abuser does so when the victim is incapacitated or not fully capable of understanding or stopping their actions)
  • Acting in secret
  • Claiming expertise in effecting beneficial changes to the victim’s rights to their personal property (without any evidence of same)
  • Using affection, intimidation, or coercion in a knowing way
  • Inducing a sense of indebtedness
  • Inducing a sense of reliance

• The undue influence the abuser had over the victim resulted in an unfair outcome in their estate planning documents: You must prove that the undue influence of the abuser over the victim actually resulted in the unsatisfactory outcome in the estate planning document you are attempting to contest. Specifically, you must show that the outcome was inequitable, or unfair. Evidence of inequity in the end-result estate planning document in question could include:
  • Negative economic consequences for the victim
  • Marked difference from the victim’s previously established wishes or past patterns
  • Unnatural disposition of assets—i.e., a short-term friend or caregiver suddenly becomes the beneficiary of the decedent’s entire estate right before they die.

If you believe that you have a case of undue influence on your hands, it is absolutely imperative to discuss your case with an experienced undue influence attorney. In Irvine, CA, the undue influence attorney to call is Attorney Taylor Preston. Attorney Preston and his colleagues at the Preston Law Firm have the skill, knowledge, tenacity, and experience to pursue the outcome you deserve in your undue influence case. Call for a free consultation on your case today!