Jane Doe created a new will leaving her
son $100,000 and her daughter the
remainder of her estate. This will
superseded an older will which divided
Jane's assets equally between her two
children. During the time Jane signed her
new will, she exhibited signs of being in
the beginning stages of Alzheimer"s
disease.
Jane's son contested the new will claiming
his sister had exerted undue influence over
their mother, the will was not executed
correctly, and his mother did not have
sufficient capacity.
Testimony by the witnesses to the will
signing quashed the contention of
improper execution. Although son and
daughter both had witnesses supporting
their positions regarding their mother's
mental state, the capacity issue was
ultimately resolved by evaluating
testimony from the attorney who drafted
the will.
The attorney testified Jane had requested
her son's inheritance be changed from
$50,000 to $100,000 proving she
understood what assets she had, who her
beneficiaries were, and what she wished to
leave them. Additionally, the son had
previously requested a $100,000 loan from
his parents only three months prior to the
execution of the new will, thus the change
in the amount left to her son was viewed
as evidence Jane still maintained capacity.
Regarding the assertion of undue
influence, although the daughter was very "closely involved" with her mother's
medical, financial, and legal affairs, and in
fact lived with her mother during the
pertinent timeframe, no evidence was
presented that the daughter prevented Jane
from interacting with others. In fact, Jane
enjoyed frequent visitors including her
son.
Consequently, even though the court
recognized the onset of Alzheimer's in
Jane during the relevant timeframe, they
ruled at the time she executed her will, she
maintained capacity. In fact, they
embraced the testimony of experts who
suggested "the early stage of Alzheimer's
disease were actually a good time to write
out a will, so as to allow an individual to
get his or her affairs in order before the
disease progressed to the point of
incapacity."
Source: Rudwick V. Lloyd, (Arlington VA Cnty
Cir. Ct., No. 05-86, 10-13-05)
