Mirick O'Connell has offices in Worcester, Westborough and Boston.GRRM has done a fantastic job of very slowly giving hints and details about the political situations and characters from Aerys's reign, and the fan communities have done a great job of compiling all of the information and creating very detailed theories that map out what was going on. Davidson of Ashland is a partner in Mirick O'Connell's Probate, Trust and Fiduciary Litigation Group and the Business and General Litigation Group. There may be allegations that the decedent said “I never should have married that women” or “I wasn’t sure the marriage was going to last, but now that it has I want to take care of her” or “I want (my son) to get $10 and not a penny more” (all true stories). Another common byproduct is the revelation of decedent’s true feelings toward the surviving spouse or his own kids. Often the focus is on who cared for the decedent at the end of his life and who stayed away. Her claim may also require medical evidence.Īny type of probate dispute between stepparents and stepchildren dredge family baggage. These witnesses may provide evidence about confusion, memory lapses or other impairment. Snow White’s efforts to prove lack of capacity would involve testimony by people who interacted with Dad at about the time of the execution of the will. The law permits that someone who experiences transient periods of lucidity may still make a will if, at the time of execution, he understands his heirs and assets. Dad may have had some memory problems, a serious illness or otherwise be cognitively impaired and still have had the testamentary capacity necessary to execute an enforceable will. Prior to that time, half of the estate passed to the spouse and half to the children.Ī lack of capacity claim involves an assessment of whether Dad understood who his heirs were and had a general understanding of his assets. As of March 2012, the intestacy laws in Massachusetts provide that a surviving spouse inherits the entire estate. If Dad had no prior will, his or her estate passes through the intestacy laws. If a will is void, a prior will controls the disposition. Snow White may allege that Dad did not understand what he was doing and she may ask the court to declare the will void. Dad has died and Stepmom, who allegedly engaged in the undue influence, will likely describe events in a self-serving way, perhaps telling a dramatic story about how “I was the one that cared for Dad at the end of his life!” or “Dad told me that I was always so special!” or “Dad resented that Snow White never visited.” Ultimately, undue influence cases are very fact-specific, and the disputes between surviving spouses and their stepchildren invariably provoke emotions that may have little to do with legal concepts.Īnother type of will contest alleges that Dad lacked testamentary capacity at the time of execution of the will. Undue influence claims can be very difficult to prove since there are usually no witnesses to the alleged pressure. Snow White may have a hard time accepting that Dad wanted to take care of his wife or that he even loved her at all. Snow White may protest that Stepmom now owns property that belonged to Snow White’s mother and likely speculates that Stepmom will bequeath the property to her own miscreant children. In the example above, Snow White may try to claim that Stepmom has always been a gold digger and inappropriately pressured Dad into favoring her over his daughter.
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It is common for adult children to claim that their stepparent exercised undue influence. Undue influence may involve fraud or duress. Claims of undue influence allege that someone took advantage of the decedent’s mental or physical vulnerability in order to secure a favorable bequest in a will.
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Undue influence is a claim that the testator was manipulated in a way that forced her to make a disposition in the will that she would not have otherwise made.