Making Sense of Undue Influence

Undue Influence in Iowa Estate Dispute Litigation

Estate law precedent in Iowa affirms wills and trusts do not express the testators’ purpose and intent when influencers substitute their intentions of personal gain into testamentary documents by inducing testators to act against their free will or to act without knowing the consequences of their choices.

The Supreme Court of Iowa has further ruled influencers can be missing at the will signing, but to find testamentary documents invalid, evidence must show the wrongdoers’ influence was present, excessive and a controlling factor during execution.

Undue Influence regularly occurs towards the end of the testator’s life and often when the deceased was fighting illness or lacking the mental strength and vigor to refuse the influencer’s demands.

Influencers can be relatives, close friends, fiduciaries or other healthcare professionals who took care of the testator before death.

Many times testators give in to the influencers’ demands because they’re afraid they’ll lose the “help” they’re receiving if they don’t comply.

Other times, wrongdoers form confidential relationships with elderly testators and persuade them to include “temporary safeguards” in their testamentary documents to protect property; but in reality, these changes permanently disinherit legitimate heirs and shift assets to the influencers.

The estate dispute litigators at the Smith Law Firm have encountered many examples of undue influence schemes in practice, and they are ready to assert or defend your undue influence claim in court.

Why Testators Surrender to an Influencer’s Demands

If you’re a malfeasance influencer, you’ll try to form a confidential or caring relationship with an elderly victim by controlling their personal hygiene, mealtimes, doctor’s appointments, medication administration, social life and other personal necessities.

The more the victim becomes dependent on the influencer to survive, the easier the wrongdoer can control the elder’s decision making and autonomy.

Influencers will likewise exercise authority over the victim’s finances and assets through:

• paying their bills;
• withdrawing and depositing money into their financial accounts;
• managing the victim’s real estate and rental properties; and
• reconciling their bank statements.

Suddenly, testators find themselves asking permission to spend their own money and having to beg or gratify their influencers to receive cash.

The probate dispute litigators at Smith Law in Iowa know how influencers assert control games over the elderly and the incapacitated, and we hold expert practice in identifying evidence of malfeasance influencing when investigating changes to testamentary documents.

Proving Undue Influence Assertions in Iowa

Iowa probate courts will presume testators execute their wills or trusts without undue influence from another unless a will challenger’s evidence proves:

• The deceased was vulnerable to undue influence before and during the will signing.
• The defendant possessed apparent authority over the testator and intended to exercise influence.
• The defendant unduly received an improper favor from the victim.
• The improper favor clearly brought about an inequitable result to the defendant.

For proving the vulnerability element mentioned above, will challengers may further present evidence that establishes the victim possessed a limited mental capacity, weak physical health, little or no social life, or a poor education level.

Shifting the Burden in Undue Influence Claims

Plaintiffs who assert undue influence in will dispute litigation generally bear the burden and the cost of proving the defendant’s wrongdoing.

Skillful estate dispute attorneys however may offer evidence that reveals a confidential relationship existed between the testator and the influencer or that unconscionable events took place before the testator altered his will.

In such circumstances, Iowa probate courts may shift the burden to the defendant to disprove the presumption of undue influence and show they held no authority or control over the testator or his intent to alter his will.

It therefore makes sense to force wrongdoers to bear undue influence presumption burdens because doing so relieves claimants from having to prove the influence existed.

Real Life Undue Influence Examples

Click on Burkhalter vs. Burkhalter to learn how the Supreme Court of Iowa invalided a family trust for lack of testamentary intent after a sibling unduly influenced his father into making changes.

You may also read about Lintz vs. Lintz to discover how a wife failed to benefit financially from her deceased husband’s estate at the expense of his legal heirs after the courts shifted the burden of proof onto the defendant.

To prevail in undue influence claims, will challengers must prove: (i) victim vulnerability; (ii) the defendant’s apparent authority; (iii) influencer intent; and (iv) receipt of an inequitable gift.

Generally no. Undue influence is a probate matter in trust and estate disputes. However, if the influencer engaged in criminal acts (fraud, elder abuse, assault) a district attorney may ultimately file criminal charges against the wrongdoer.