Source: https://californiaestatetrust.com/tag/contest/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 07:52:12+00:00

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Posted on March 26, 2015 by David Tate, Esq.
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Many of my cases involve cognitive impairment or decline, whether it be diagnosed or called Alzheimer’s, or dementia, or traumatic brain injury, or lack of mental capacity, or cognitive impairment, or otherwise.
In conservatorships the issue isn’t the diagnosis, but whether the prospective conservatee has the ability to take care of and understand financial and/or daily living tasks and to resist fraud and undue influence?
And in will and trust contests or disputes, the issue is whether the decedent understood his or her assets and the effect of the provisions in the will or trust, and whether the will or trust provisions are what the decedent would have naturally wanted if the decedent had the mental capacity to understand his or her actions and the will or trust provisions, and to resist fraud and undue influence? One additional comment: there is case law that you might not need to wait until after someone dies to contest or seek to invalidate a will or trust – this is an area of law that is developing and that is a positive development.
Posted on January 4, 2015 by David Tate, Esq.
In will and trust contest actions the person who signed or who supposedly signed the will or trust is usually deceased. Statements that the decedent previously made are considered hearsay, i.e., a statement made out of court that is being admitted for the truth of the statement, and are not admissible in evidence unless a hearsay exception applies. California Evidence Code section 1260 provides an important possible hearsay exception that may apply in will and trust contest cases; however, the applicability of section 1260 depends on a determination by the Judge in the case and applicability can vary from case to case and from Judge to Judge.
(1) That the declarant has or has not made a will or established or amended a revocable trust.
(2) That the declarant has or has not revoked his or her will, revocable trust, or an amendment to a revocable trust.
(3) That identifies the declarant’s will, revocable trust, or an amendment to a revocable trust.
(b) Evidence of a statement is inadmissible under this section if the statement was made under circumstances that indicate its lack of trustworthiness.
Section 1261. (a) Evidence of a statement is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule when offered in an action upon a claim or demand against the estate of the declarant if the statement was made upon the personal knowledge of the declarant at a time when the matter had been recently perceived by him and while his recollection was clear.
(b) Evidence of a statement is inadmissible under this section if the statement was made under circumstances such as to indicate its lack of trustworthiness.
Posted on December 29, 2014 by David Tate, Esq.
Undue influence is typically proven by inference or circumstantial evidence, not limited to the actual time that the will or trust was executed but also based on facts relevant to the issues both before and after execution. Estate of Franco (1975) 50 Cal. App. 3d 374, 382; Estate of Baker (1982) 131 Cal. App. 3d 471, 481. To make the determination more difficult, different law and standards can apply depending on whether the document in question is a will or trust, different judges will apply different standards and approaches, and there can be a presumption that a signed will or trust that isn’t a forgery is valid and effective. On the other hand however, a presumption of undue influence can apply in certain statutory, fiduciary, and confidential relationship situations. The facts and evidence in each case need to be carefully evaluated particularly when the will or trust contains provisions that are not natural to what the testator would have wanted and in cases where there are significant sudden or significant changes.
Undue influence consists of conduct that causes the testator to make a disposition of his or her property that is different from that which he or she could have done had he or she been permitted to follow his or her own inclination. Estate of Baker (1982) 131 Cal. App. 3d 471, 480-81.
(3) taking a grossly oppressive and unfair advantage of another’s necessities or distress.
There is no fixed definition or inflexible formula – rather the question is whether from the entire context it appears that the testator was induced or his decision making was induced to do or forbear to not an action which he or she would not do, or would do, if left to act freely. Keithley v. Civil Service Board (1970) 11 Cal. App. 3d 443, 451.
Under Cal. Civ. Code §1575(2) the weakness of mind can be temporary and need not be incapacitating. Odorizzi v. Bloomfield School District (1966) 246 Cal. App. 2d 123, 131. Under Cal. Civ. Code §§1575(2) and (3) the use of over-persuasion is often accompanied by certain characteristics examples of which might be: discussion of the transaction at an unusual or inappropriate time; consummation of the transaction in an unusual place; insistent demand that the event be finished at once; emphasis on the untoward consequences of delay; the use of multiple persuaders; the absence of third-parties; or statements that there is no time to consult others. Odorizzi v. Bloomfield School District (1966) 246 Cal. App. 2d 123, 133.
Although fraud and undue influence are separate grounds for setting aside a will, and undue influence can be found without any fraud, undue influence also can be a species of fraud or constructive fraud as undue influence and fraud can be closely related and fraud may be considered in determining whether there was undue influence. Estate of Garibaldi (1961) 57 Cal. 2d 108, 114; O’Neil v. Spillane (1975) 45 Cal. App. 3d 147, 158 (undue influence as a species of constructive fraud); Stewart v. Marvin (1956) 139 Cal. app. 2d 769, 775 (undue influence as a species of constructive fraud); Estate of Newhall (1923) 190 Cal. 709, 718; Estate of Ricks (1911) 160 Cal. 467, 480; however, see also, Hagen v. Hickenbottom (1995) 41 Cal. App. 4th 168(a showing of false or fraudulent statement is not a necessary element of undue influence).
(1) The vulnerability of the victim. Evidence of vulnerability may include, but is not limited to, incapacity, illness, disability, injury, age, education, impaired cognitive function, emotional distress, isolation, or dependency, and whether the influencer knew or should have known of the alleged victim’s vulnerability.
(2) The influencer’s apparent authority. Evidence of apparent authority may include, but is not limited to, status as a fiduciary, family member, care provider, health care professional, legal professional, spiritual adviser, expert, or other qualification.
(A) Controlling necessaries of life, medication, the victim’s interactions with others, access to information, or sleep.
(B) Use of affection, intimidation, or coercion.
(C) Initiation of changes in personal or property rights, use of haste or secrecy in effecting those changes, effecting changes at inappropriate times and places, and claims of expertise in effecting changes.
(4) The equity of the result. Evidence of the equity of the result may include, but is not limited to, the economic consequences to the victim, any divergence from the victim’s prior intent or course of conduct or dealing, the relationship of the value conveyed to the value of any services or consideration received, or the appropriateness of the change in light of the length and nature of the relationship.
(b) Evidence of an inequitable result, without more, is not sufficient to prove undue influence.
The facts and evidence in each case need to be carefully evaluated.
Posted on December 22, 2014 by David Tate, Esq.
The mental capacity to execute a trust or trust amendment is primarily based on California Probate Code §§810-812, and the mental capacity to execute a will or will codicil is primarily based on California Probate Code §6100.5; however, in the case of a trust or trust amendment §6100.5 may apply if the provisions are more simple in nature, and in the case of a will the provisions of §§810-812 may apply if the provisions are more complicated and in the nature of a trust. Andersen v. Hunt (2011) 196 Cal. App. 4th 722; Lintz v. Lintz (2014) 222 Cal. App. 4th 1346. However, various other rules and case law also apply including that it is the intent and natural wishes of the decedent testator that should prevail, extrinsic evidence and evidence of the surrounding circumstances might be admissible to determine that testator’s intent, presumptions for and against the validity of a document apply in certain circumstances, and the validity of the document can also be attacked in various other circumstances including for example, undue influence, fraud, forgery, elder abuse, fiduciary or confidential relationship and mistake.
(a) For purposes of this part, there shall exist a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof that all persons have the capacity to make decisions and to be responsible for their acts or decisions.
(b) A person who has a mental or physical disorder may still be capable of contracting, conveying, marrying, making medical decisions, executing wills or trusts, and performing other actions.
(c) A judicial determination that a person is totally without understanding, or is of unsound mind, or suffers from one or more mental deficits so substantial that, under the circumstances, the person should be deemed to lack the legal capacity to perform a specific act, should be based on evidence of a deficit in one or more of the person’s mental functions rather than on a diagnosis of a person’s mental or physical disorder.
(A) Level of arousal or consciousness.
(B) Orientation to time, place, person, and situation.
(C) Ability to attend and concentrate.
(A) Short- and long-term memory, including immediate recall.
(B) Ability to understand or communicate with others, either verbally or otherwise.
(C) Recognition of familiar objects and familiar persons.
(D) Ability to understand and appreciate quantities.
(E) Ability to reason using abstract concepts.
(F) Ability to plan, organize, and carry out actions in one’s own rational self-interest.
(G) Ability to reason logically.
(D) Uncontrollable, repetitive, or intrusive thoughts.
(4) Ability to modulate mood and affect. Deficits in this ability may be demonstrated by the presence of a pervasive and persistent or recurrent state of euphoria, anger, anxiety, fear, panic, depression, hopelessness or despair, helplessness, apathy or indifference, that is inappropriate in degree to the individual’s circumstances.
(b) A deficit in the mental functions listed above may be considered only if the deficit, by itself or in combination with one or more other mental function deficits, significantly impairs the person’s ability to understand and appreciate the consequences of his or her actions with regard to the type of act or decision in question.
(c) In determining whether a person suffers from a deficit in mental function so substantial that the person lacks the capacity to do a certain act, the court may take into consideration the frequency, severity, and duration of periods of impairment.
(d) The mere diagnosis of a mental or physical disorder shall not be sufficient in and of itself to support a determination that a person is of unsound mind or lacks the capacity to do a certain act.
(e) This part applies only to the evidence that is presented to, and the findings that are made by, a court determining the capacity of a person to do a certain act or make a decision, including, but not limited to, making medical decisions. Nothing in this part shall affect the decisionmaking process set forth in Section 1418.8 of the Health and Safety Code, nor increase or decrease the burdens of documentation on, or potential liability of, health care providers who, outside the judicial context, determine the capacity of patients to make a medical decision.
(1) The individual does not have sufficient mental capacity to be able to (A) understand the nature of the testamentary act, (B) understand and recollect the nature and situation of the individual’s property, or (C) remember and understand the individual’s relations to living descendants, spouse, and parents, and those whose interests are affected by the will.
(2) The individual suffers from a mental disorder with symptoms including delusions or hallucinations, which delusions or hallucinations result in the individual’s devising property in a way which, except for the existence of the delusions or hallucinations, the individual would not have done.
(b) Nothing in this section supersedes existing law relating to the admissibility of evidence to prove the existence of mental incompetence or mental disorders.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a conservator may make a will on behalf of a conservatee if the conservator has been so authorized by a court order pursuant to Section 2580.
Posted on December 20, 2014 by David Tate, Esq.
-One item of evidence in Court can be sufficient to establish a fact.
-Evidence can be oral or documentary/demonstrative, or both. Generally, documentary or demonstrative evidence is more persuasive.
-Not all evidence is admissible. The Judge determines admissibility.
-The trier of fact, i.e., the Judge or Jury depending on the type of case, determines which of the admissible evidence is most persuasive.
-The applicable standard or standards of care, and the burden or burdens of proof, and in some cases the shifting of the burden(s) of proof, are very important on the issues of liability and which party prevails in Court.
-I view evidence as falling in three different categories: (1) evidence that already exists and that we have in hand; (2) evidence that we don’t have but we very reasonably believe exists and we know where it is, how we can get it, and that we will get it; and (3) evidence or facts that we believe or hope exists but we don’t know if we will be able to get it.
-If you can’t sufficiently describe what you did and what did occur (and hopefully support them with documents or demonstrative evidence), you run the risk that it might be decided that you didn’t do it or that it didn’t occur.
-Your story must tell, and convince the trier of fact (i.e., the Judge or Jury) why you are there in front of them.
-Evidence also relates to damages and possible recovery or payment of attorneys’ fees and costs – what damages can be established, are the damages recoverable, and what are the possibilities of a party recovering or having to pay costs and attorneys’ fees to the other side?
-Consider the above when you are evaluating the probability of your case.
Posted on December 16, 2014 by David Tate, Esq.
The following is the statutory definition of financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult as defined in California Welfare & Institutions Code §15610.30. Many of the aspects of the definition and its meaning as applied to different situations remain yet to be interpreted by the Courts. Nevertheless, the definition is helpful in may clear situations of abuse, and applicability can be argued in less clear situations.
(1) Takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both.
(2) Assists in taking, secreting, appropriating, obtaining, or retaining real or personal property of an elder or dependent adult for a wrongful use or with intent to defraud, or both.
(b) A person or entity shall be deemed to have taken, secreted, appropriated, obtained, or retained property for a wrongful use if, among other things, the person or entity takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains the property and the person or entity knew or should have known that this conduct is likely to be harmful to the elder or dependent adult.
(c) For purposes of this section, a person or entity takes, secretes, appropriates, obtains, or retains real or personal property when an elder or dependent adult is deprived of any property right, including by means of an agreement, donative transfer, or testamentary bequest, regardless of whether the property is held directly or by a representative of an elder or dependent adult.
(1) A conservator, trustee, or other representative of the estate of an elder or dependent adult.
(2) An attorney-in-fact of an elder or dependent adult who acts within the authority of the power of attorney.
Dave Tate, Esq. (San Francisco / California) – trust, estate, conservatorship, elder and civil litigation, and contentious administrations.

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