Undue Influence as a Grounds for North Carolina Will Contests

A will caveat is a challenge to the validity of a will that has been submitted for probate. The purpose of a caveat is to determine whether the writing purporting to be a will is in fact the will  of the person for whom it is propounded. The Superior Court presides over caveat proceedings before a jury, and the issue for the jury is the question of devisavit vel non – “he devises or not.”

There are many potential grounds for a caveat, including lack of testamentary capacity, duress, and fraud. This post explores the relevant law when a challenger(“caveator”) alleges that the will was procured by undue influence. In some cases, only one writing will be in issue; in other cases, the caveator may present another writing as the purported valid will. The jury may decide that one of the wills is valid. If not, the estate will be administered by intestate succession.

Undue influence occurs when “Something operat[es] upon the mind of the person whose act is called into judgment, of sufficient controlling effect to destroy free agency and to render the instrument, brought in question, not properly an
expression of the wishes of the maker, but rather the expression of the will of another.” In Re Will of Jones, 362 N.C. 569, 575, 669 S.E.2d 572, 578 (2008). The four elements that a caveator must prove to succeed in an action are: a) the decedent is subject to influence; b) the beneficiary has opportunity to exert influence; c) the beneficiary has a disposition to exert influence; and d) the resulting will indicates undue influence. In addition, the North Carolina Supreme Court has outlined a number of factors to assist juries in determining whether undue influence was present:
(a) Old age and physical and mental weakness;
(b) That the person signing the paper is in the home of the beneficiary and subject to his constant association and supervision;
(c) That others have little or no opportunity to see him;
(d) That the will is different from and revokes a prior will;
(e) That it is made in favor of one with whom there are no ties of blood;
(f) That it disinherits the natural objects of his bounty;
(g) That the beneficiary has procured its execution.
In Re Will of Andrews, 299 N.C. 52, 55, 261 S.E.2d 198, 200 (1980).

For a recent and thorough example of the application of Andrews factors to a set of facts, see  In Re Will of Jones, 362 N.C. 569, 575, 669 S.E.2d 572(2008).

Evan Lohr is an estates attorney in Raleigh. He can be reached at evan@lohrnc.com or at (919) 348-9211. Visit his website at www.lohrnc.com.