Twelve Ways of Proving the Negative and Overcoming the Carpenter Presumption of Undue Influence

The Carpenter presumption in Florida law says that if someone who benefits from a will was involved in making the will in certain ways, it’s assumed they unduly influenced the person who made the will. There are seven things that can make this assumption stronger, like being there when the will was made or knowing what’s in it beforehand. If this comes up in a court case, the burden is on the person who benefits from the will to prove that they didn’t influence the person who made it. If it’s obvious that someone influenced the making of a will, the person trying to prove the will is legitimate has to show that it wasn’t influenced. This can be hard, but it’s possible. Instead of just saying it wasn’t influenced, the person has to prove that the person who made the will did it on their own and wasn’t forced. There are a bunch of things they can use as proof, and the more evidence they have, the better. The goal is to convince the judge that the will was made freely, not because someone made the person do it. It’s important to have a lot of evidence to make the case strong. The witnesses to the execution of a will, like the notary and other people present, will testify that they believe the person making the will was doing it of their own free will. If they kept notes or wrote down what happened, that can be used as evidence. If they didn’t write anything down, employees of the lawyer who helped make the will can talk about the normal practices for making a will. The lawyer who helped make the will is the most important person to testify. They will talk about meeting alone with the person making the will, the reasons behind their decisions, and if they were sure about what they wanted. This testimony is crucial in showing that the person making the will wasn’t influenced by anyone else. The lawyer has notes and a questionnaire from the person making the will that can be used in court. The court will look at whether the person making the will was able to make their own decisions and manage their own life, as well as whether they were independent or relied on others. If the person was independent and able to manage their own affairs, it can show that they were not influenced by someone else when making their will. Simply put, when someone tries to influence another person to change their will in their favor, they might try to keep the person isolated from their friends and family. This can be shown in court by proving that the person who made the will still had regular contact with other people and wasn’t kept away from them by the person trying to influence them. Also, if the person’s actions and decisions about their will were kept secret, it can be argued in court that there was a good reason for keeping it secret, like fear of a bad reaction from family members. It’s important for the person trying to defend the will to show that everything was done in a transparent and open way. The Florida Supreme Court says that if a will is different from what the person wanted before, it could be a sign of someone pressuring them. Evidence of what the person wanted before can be used in court. If the person made other changes to their money or legal documents without the help of the person who benefits from the will, it can show that the will was their own choice and not because of pressure. In simple terms, if someone is trying to prove that a will was influenced by a beneficiary, they will look at all the interactions between the person who wrote the will (the testator) and the beneficiary. If the testator said no to the beneficiary’s requests or help in other parts of their life, it can show that the beneficiary didn’t have too much influence over the will. This could be things like not letting the beneficiary choose their bank or advisor, or not letting them make decisions about where to live or who to have power of attorney. The main reasons someone may be disinherited include a criminal record, financial mismanagement, estrangement from the person making the will, or substance abuse. As long as the person making the will is not delusional, they can disinherit anyone for any reason. Sometimes, families argue about who gets what, especially in blended families with stepchildren. If a stepparent chooses to leave more to a stepchild than a biological child, it may be because they had a stronger bond with the stepchild. These reasons can be important in proving that the decision was made freely and without any pressure. Beneficiary should be open and honest about the testator’s illnesses with family members. This can help prove that the will was not influenced unfairly. It’s also okay for a child to help their parent with their will without raising suspicion. In some cases, a child defending their elderly parent’s will may have to prove that they were not unduly influenced. This can be challenging, but in a specific case, even though the child helped their parent with the will and took care of them, the will was still upheld. In another situation where a spouse is accused of influencing the will, the accuser has to prove it without any presumption. It’s important for the defense to not just try to prove the accuser wrong, but to also find evidence that shows the parent made their own choices. The court cases listed show examples of situations where someone may have unfairly influenced a person to change their will. This could include isolating them from their family, denying access to them, or discrediting their family. The law in Florida also allows for verbal statements to be used as evidence of a person’s intentions. It’s important to consider whether someone caring for an elderly person might be unduly influencing them. LARRY E. CIESLA is a lawyer in Gainesville who has been practicing law since 1979. He primarily works in estate planning, probate and trust administration, elder law, and real property. He started working on will contest cases in 1980.

JACK M. ROSS is a partner at a law firm in Gainesville and has been practicing law since 1980. He specializes in business, financial, and probate litigation and is board certified in civil trial practice.

Ciesla and Ross have been working together for 25 years on will and trust contest cases.

This information is provided on behalf of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section.

The main goal of The Florida Bar is to encourage its members to serve the public, improve the justice system, and advance the study of law.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/twelve-ways-of-proving-the-negative-and-overcoming-the-carpenter-presumption-of-undue-influence/