Wills, Trusts and Estates - Part 1

• A Louisiana appeals court upheld the validity of a will that left a decedent's estate to her minister. Here are the facts. The decedent died in 1986 at the age of 86. As early as 1979, she began exhibiting behavior which led her doctor to conclude that she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. By 1981, she had trouble recognizing close friends and relatives, her conversations became repetitive, and she became prone to emotional outbursts and temper tantrums. In 1979, a minister began transporting the decedent to and from church. By 1982, she offered to give her property to him (she made similar offers to others who did favors for her). In 1983, the minister took the decedent to an attorney's office in order to have a will drafted leaving him her estate. The attorney had known the decedent for many years, and had drafted a previous will for her in 1975. He questioned her as to whether ...