Undue Influence FAQ

Undue influence is one of the grounds by which a will or trust may be challenged. This basis for contesting a will or trust is raised when there is evidence that indicates somebody may have taken advantage of a decedent prior to their death by influencing them—by means of manipulation, coercion or pressure—to give the influencer inappropriate bequests. Often, undue influencers are trusted advisors or caregivers.

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To prove undue influence, the person challenging the will or trust needs to prove that the influencer had motive and opportunity to apply influence and actually did apply influence. Undue influence is not merely persuasion or advice based on a personal relationship; rather it involves moral coercion that disrupts the testator’s free agency. Elements of a case that may indicate undue influence are a confidential relationship between the testator and the influencer; the vulnerability of the testator because of his or her dependency, illness or age; and sudden strange changes to a will or trust.

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Often circumstantial evidence is used to establish undue influence. This can include a beneficiary of the will isolating the testator from his or her family. It can also include a beneficiary getting involved in drafting the will. Sometimes a beneficiary who exerts undue influence has control over the testator’s finances or physical wellbeing, such as when he or she is a caregiver or in a confidential relationship that involves money, such as a financial advisor, accountant, or attorney.

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When undue influence is proven before the New York Surrogate’s Court, the court can invalidate the will. This may result in an earlier valid will be probated or, where there is no prior will, state intestacy laws will control who inherits the decedent’s property.

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In New York City, the statute of limitations to contest a will may vary, depending on the factual circumstances. It may be a couple of years. It is important not to delay filing a claim.
Sometimes undue influence occurs, for example, when a disabled person is fully in the care of the influencer, and the influencer uses that position to get the disabled person to change his or her will. For example, there may be undue influence if a decedent had developed Alzheimer’s before he died such that he or she forgot his son and daughter while making a will and a live-in caregiver was left a house and other property in Long Island. Under such circumstances, it might also be appropriate to challenge a will on the grounds of testamentary capacity.

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Influence is undue when the influencer’s conduct is equal to mental coercion that caused the testator to put into motion the influencer’s wishes, not their own. For example, when a dementia patient is completely dependent on his or her caregiver, and the caregiver convinces the patient to leave the caregiver his or her house, there may be undue influence involved.

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The burden of proof in a will contest is on the person contesting the will to show that undue influence was involved in making the will. However, when the person contesting the will can prove there was a confidential relationship between the decedent and the influencer and that there were suspicious circumstances surrounding the will, the burden shifts to the alleged influencer to prove that the will’s terms are fair by clear and convincing evidence.

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