Opinion ID: 1786690
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did Roberts prove Emma Jane had independent consent and action?

Text: ¶ 37. We have previously stated that [t]he participation of the beneficiary/grantee, or someone closely related to the beneficiary, arouses suspicious circumstances that negate independent action. Harris v. Sellers, 446 So.2d 1012, 1015 (Miss.1984). ¶ 38. This third prong of the Murray test for rebutting the presumption of undue influence, was formerly stated by this Court as, Advice of (a) competent person, (b) disconnected from the grantee and (c) devoted wholly to the grantor/testator's interest. Murray, 446 So.2d at 578. However, three years later this Court revised the third prong, stating: The independent advice prong of Murray has been read too strictly. Considering the heavy burden placed upon one seeking to overcome the presumption of undue influence, we find it necessary to redefine the third prong of the Murray test. This we do to the end that the power our law vest in property owners to make bona fide inter vivos gifts not be practically thwarted by often impossible evidentiary encumbrances. We declare that the appropriate third prong of the test is a requirement that the grantee/beneficiary prove by clear and convincing evidence that the grantor/testator exhibited independent consent and action. Mullins v. Ratcliff, 515 So.2d at 1193. ¶ 39. There is no proof that Emma Jane or Homan spoke with any other attorney independent of Armon Lee, the Roberts's attorney, before or after signing the documents. When Roberts was asked if she were aware of whether Emma Jane or Homan had ever talked to any attorney other than Armon Lee regarding the documents, she stated that she was not. Roberts and her son used Armon Lee extensively as their attorney. Roberts testified that neither Emma Jane nor Homan had ever contacted Armon Lee to perform legal services. ¶ 40. Roberts in one instance stated that she procured the preparation of the documents, but in another she denied this. It appears that the documents were prepared before the Wrights were consulted, because Lee's secretary, based upon personal knowledge, believed that Homan could not write his name and had typed spaces for his mark to be attested by witnesses. It was Roberts's son who brought to the secretary's attention the fact that Homan could sign his name. If the Wrights had, in fact, consulted the lawyer, he would have likely determined such information. Furthermore, the documents were prepared in early December, and some were not signed until the next month. Lee's secretary testified that Emma Jane was hesitant in signing the will. Even Roberts stated: I didn't know whether she was [going to sign] or not. She wanted to think about it, and she wanted to think about selling the place.... Roberts told Emma Jane that if they kept the secretary too long, it would cost them money. In an attempt to convince Emma Jane to sign, Roberts told her that if she did not sign, her property would go to the state and the lawyers. Roberts's brief unconvincingly states that this was not an effort to coax Emma Jane, rather, merely an expression of frustration. ¶ 41. It is clear from the record that Roberts failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Emma Jane exhibited independent consent and action.