last will and testament?

Question

this lady was the caretaker of a old man that has now passed away, the day of his burial she read the will that was made with the notary , it read that the property of the old man was to be divided between her and his two daughters , his daughters found out that the notary was the caretakers relative, is that valid here in california, the caretaker been spending all the money from the rents and has not shared anything with the daughters, the man had $$$$$$ but nobody knows what happened to it

Answer 1

This is ripe for a will contest.

There are many grounds for Will Contests:

(1) Mental incapacity, which probably does not apply to the fact situation
(2) Undue influence [probably the grounds you will use], or
(3) Improper execution of the will -- will does not comply with the Wills Act or is a forgery.
(4) Fraud. Closely related to undue influence, where the will is procured by deception rather than coercion or forgery.

Comments about undue influence:
Undue influence, to effect the validity of a will or a part thereof, must be such as to subjugate the mind of the testator to the will of the person exerting the influence. To establish this, there must be proof of some threats, misrepresentations, inordinate flattery or some physical or mental coercion employed to destroy the free agency of the testator.

If there is evidence that the testator was infirm in body and mind and that the beneficiary was a stranger to the blood or standing in a confidential relationship to the testator, a presumption as to undue influence will arise. Phillips Estate, 244 Pa. 35.

A caretaker is in a confidential relationship with a testator and is the kind of person who might use undue influence. One typical threat may be that the caretaker would abandon the testator unless a substantial bequest is made to him or her.

Answer 2

It's not invalid is the best way I can put it, but it should be challenged. There is a presumption of undue influence that the caretaker will have to overcome. I have a very similar case now and I think a good attorney could have this Will set aside, but if I were interviewing the family, there's a lot more information I would need. How often did they visit him? How was his mental condition? That kind of information is crucial, but your questions raises the element of "suspicious circumstances." I've practiced in California and this is a case I would have been very interested in pursuing if the additional facts I've mentioned are helpful to the daughters.