Undue influence is sometimes a reason for litigation over an estate plan, a will, or even a trust. Essentially, it is an allegation that someone else influenced the person who was creating that plan. They would not have set the plan up this way on their own but were unfairly influenced by an outside party.
For example, say that an estate plan is written equally so that all beneficiaries will receive similar assets. But a month before a person’s passing, they change the estate plan to give 90% of the assets to a single beneficiary. It may be alleged that this beneficiary used undue influence to convince them to change the estate plan in their favor, even though they did not want to and would not have done so themselves.
How manipulation occurs
This is a form of manipulation or fraud, and it often happens when one person is in a position of power and the other is not. They can then use this power to manipulate the other party.
For undue influence in estate planning, a common example is if one of the beneficiaries is a caregiver for the elderly person. Maybe they help them run errands or meet other transportation needs, take them to doctors’ appointments, help them around the home, and provide daily assistance with things like cooking food or bathing.
Because the elderly person is dependent on the caregiver, the caregiver then has a lot of power over them. They may be tempted to use this by threatening to withhold care unless they are given what they want in the estate plan. That is when it becomes undue influence and can result in an estate challenge.
These cases and disputes can be complicated and emotional for family members, and it is critical that everyone involved knows what legal options they have