What does it take for a will to be found invalid?

Undue influence and fraud are two of the ways a beneficiary of a will might contest that
will. A beneficiary is a person named in the will that receives some sort of benefit from it upon the
death of the person making the will. A testator is the person who executes the will and who has
assets that are subject to the will. In the case of a contested will, the testator is the person who
passed away and whose will is being contested. Undue influence is the unlawful imposition of the
power and will of one person on another whereby the victim (in this case the testator) is forced to
do an act which is not their voluntary act but rather the act of the perpetrator. Undue influence
invalidates a will when the wishes of a person who is not the testator are substituted for the wishes
of the testator, but if only fair and reasonable influence is exerted to secure the execution of a will,
the will is not invalidated.

Several factors are considered by a judge when deciding whether a will was made subject
to undue influence and if parts or all of it should be invalidated. Undue influence could be through
flattery, superiority of will, mind, or character, or anything else that might give another person
control over the will of the testator to the point of destroying the testator’s free agency or autonomy
in making the will. In addition, courts may consider the physical and mental condition of the
testator at the time the alleged undue influence occurred, as well as how near they were to death.
The better the condition of the testator and the further away from death the testator was, the more
likely undue influence will not be found. When inquiring into a contested will, courts will consider
the external factors that caused the influence (like statements made by the person alleged to be
exerting undue influence), but also internal factors of the testator, like statements by the testator
regarding their state of mind at the time the will was executed. While all of these factors may be
considered, courts find that undue influence includes the following core elements: (a) there must
be actions directly connected with the execution of the will; (b) which actions were operating at
the same time the will is made; (c) which actions are of such compelling force that the testator is
the mere instrument by which another’s desire is enforced; and (d) due to the actions, the
instrument does not express the testator’s will, except in the sense that they have subscribed their
name thereon.

Fraud on the other hand, has three specific elements: (a) there must have been a material
misrepresentation of past or existing facts; (b) which was made with knowledge or reckless
ignorance of the falsity or the material misrepresentation; and (c) which caused a person to rely
upon the misrepresentation to the person’s detriment. Courts do not have such rigid factors for
finding fraud influenced a will. Instead, fraud may be found by looking into the specific facts of
each situation and finding whether a beneficiary caused the testator to execute the will by deceiving
them as to the document they were signing or to the will’s contents. Fraud is much more based on
direct evidence, as the person contesting the will must be able to display that the alleged perpetrator
of the fraud made false representations to the testator (knowingly or recklessly), and that the fraud
induced the testator to execute the will.

If you have any questions about your will or a will that you are the beneficiary of, please contact
McNeelyLaw LLP by calling (317) 825-5110.

Disclaimer: This McNeelyLaw LLP publication should not be construed as legal advice or legal
opinion of any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general
informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own lawyer on any specific legal
questions you may have concerning your situation.