Woman’s Estate Plan Leaving Funds to Church Can Not Be Subverted by Caregiver’s Undue Influence

Key point 4-03. A gift to a church or minister may be challenged on the ground that the recipient unduly influenced the donor into making the gift. There are several factors the courts will consider in deciding whether or not undue influence occurred, including the age and mental health of the donor, and the presence of independent legal advice. Undue influence generally must be proven by "clear and convincing" evidence.

A Florida court ruled that an elderly woman's estate plan that left her entire estate to her church could not be altered through the undue influence of the woman's caretaker, who attempted to redirect the estate to herself. An elderly woman (the "decedent") and her late husband executed a family trust and pour-over wills in 2009, several months before he died. The trust provided that, if the husband died first, then upon his wife's death, the entire estate would go to their ...