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Keywords

attorneytrialtestimonywillobjection

trialburden of prooftrustwillsustained

Related Cases

Matter of Burke, 82 A.D.2d 260, 441 N.Y.S.2d 542

Facts

The decedent, an 88-year-old widower, executed a will on August 23, 1978, while in a nursing home. The contestants, who were the decedent's relatives, argued that the will did not reflect his true intentions and was the product of undue influence from the nursing home operator, Mrs. Miller. Evidence presented included testimony from a nurse's aide who heard Mrs. Miller make disparaging remarks about the decedent's attorney, as well as conflicting accounts regarding the drafting of the will by an attorney who had not previously represented the decedent.

The contestants contend that the propounded will of August 23, 1978 did not represent the testamentary intentions of the decedent, who, at the time of its execution, was a very old man, severely ill in a hospital, and in a dying condition, but that the will is the product of undue influence and fraud upon an enfeebled and confused mind.

Issue

Did the trial court err in dismissing the objections to the will and preventing the jury from considering the issue of undue influence?

The Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Gibbons, J., held that: (1) evidence warranted submission to jury of issue of undue influence, and (2) trial court erred in preventing nurse's aid from testifying that she was present when owner of nursing home made tape recording of conversation with testator.

Rule

The court established that undue influence must be shown to have been exercised over the testator, which can be inferred from the relationship between the parties and the circumstances surrounding the will's execution.

The law is clear, as stated in Matter of Walther, 6 N.Y.2d 49, 55, 188 N.Y.S.2d 168, 159 N.E.2d 665, that '[a] mere showing of opportunity and even of a motive to exercise undue influence does not justify a submission of that issue to the jury, unless there is in addition, evidence that such influence was actually utilized.'

Analysis

The court found that the evidence presented could lead a jury to reasonably conclude that undue influence was exerted by Mrs. Miller over the decedent. The close relationship between the decedent and Mrs. Miller, along with her role in the drafting of the will and the disparaging remarks made about the decedent's attorney, created sufficient grounds for the jury to consider the issue of undue influence.

In failing to do so, the court committed error. Undue influence is seldom practiced openly, but it is, rather, the product of persistent and subtle suggestion imposed upon a weaker mind and calculated, by the exploitation of a relationship of trust and confidence, to overwhelm the victim's will to the point where it becomes the willing tool to be manipulated for the benefit of another.

Conclusion

The Appellate Division reversed the Surrogate's Court's decree and remitted the case for a new trial on the issue of undue influence.

On this record, sufficient credible evidence was adduced at the trial to have, if believed by the jury, sustained the contestants' burden of proof on the issue of undue influence.

Who won?

Contestants prevailed because the appellate court found that the trial court had erred in dismissing their objections and in not allowing the jury to consider the evidence of undue influence.

Reversed and remitted.

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