Opinion ID: 1699458
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Existence of a Confidential Relationship

Text: The trial judge found that the appellant had not produced sufficient evidence to establish a confidential relationship between John and his mother. He reasoned that the ofttime unique and close relationship between a mother and son is entirely different from that of an attorney-client, physician-patient, priest-parishioner relationship and should not be compared to the undue influence exercised by a nonrelative in the drafting and execution of a will. [9, 10] In Will of Faulks, supra at 358 the court stated the following as to whether family-relationships can constitute a confidential relationship: The relations of attorney and client, physician and patient, priest and parishioner, and some others are ordinarily referred to as being of a confidential and personal nature. The rules applicable to these relationships do not ordinarily extend to the relation of parent and child or husband and wife. It is generally held that the existence of confidential relations between the testator and favored beneficiary standing alone, do not necessarily constitute undue influence although it may cause the court to examine the case with greater scrutiny and may, when coupled with other circumstances, raise a presumption of undue influence, but the question must be determined, as in all other cases, by ascertaining whether the free agency of the testator has been destroyed. 68 C.J. p. 751, sec. 442, and cases cited; 28 R.C.L. p. 146, sec. 100; 1 Page, Wills (2d ed.), p. 1230, sec. 720. [11, 12] The language in the passage quoted from Faulks does not exclude the possibility that under certain circumstances a child can serve in a confidential relationship to his parent. This position is supported in Page on Wills, Vol. 3, sec. 29.87 (3d ed. 1961) which recites: The fact that the testator makes a will in favor of his child does not, of itself, create any presumption of undue influence. This is said to be due to the fact that it is presumed that the parents dominate their children, rather than that children dominate their parents. It is said that no presumption can exist unless it is shown that the child is the dominant spirit, or that special trust and confidence is reposed in the child. . . . If a child of testator is also his confidential agent the rule of presumption with reference to confidential agents applies, and not the rule with reference to parent and child, and a presumption of undue influence arises if such confidential agent receives especial benefit under the will. The practical difficulty in applying this principle arises out of the difficulty in determining the point at which the amount and kind of assistance which a child renders to its parent makes the child a confidential advisor. The fact that the child has transacted business for its parent does not raise a presumption of undue influence, nor does the fact that the child lived with its parents and managed their property for them. . . . Further, the holdings in the Estate of Velk, supra at 507-08 and the Estate of Steffke, supra at 51 should be considered in light of the appellant's claims and the conflicting testimony that John exercised undue influence by obtaining the scrivener for Julia's last will. Velk and Steffke hold that a beneficiary who procures the drafting attorney will stand in a confidential relationship to the testator. There is conflicting evidence as to who specifically procured or directed the procurement of Atty. Sensenbrenner. The will objector argues that the testimony of Robert Regner, quoted below, supports his contention that John procured Atty. Sensenbrenner, the scrivener of the November, 1973 will. However, from this testimony it can also be argued that John merely talked to Atty. Sensenbrenner after his mother had retained the attorney to redraft her will. Robert Regner, a partner in Arthur Anderson, Inc., testified that on October 12, 1973 John called to inform him that his father had died and further: John stated that he has already talked to [Atty.] Joe Sensenbrenner about revising his mother's will. Apparently his mother will receive one-half of his father's stocks, approximately $8,000,000 worth. We will be working with Joe Sensenbrenner in estate planning for John's mother. Regner explained that during the next several months following the October 12th contact with John he had no direct communication with Julia while preparing various tax studies for her estate planning. Regner's records indicated that on October 12, 22, 23 and November 12 and 13th he conferred with John and during these communications Regner was instructed to study the gift and estate tax implications pertaining to: (1) gifts to John and his children of Julia's One and One-half Million Dollar holdings in the Menasha Woodenware Co.; (2) the use of Estate Tax Flower Bonds; [3] (3) the tax advantages of using a minority trust rather than an outright gift to John's children. Further, on March 18, 1974 Regner was again contacted as John was interested in the tax advantages between receiving his mother's estate outright or in trust. In contrast, Atty. Sensenbrenner testified that on October 11, 1973 Julia personally telephoned him and asked him to redraft and make certain changes in her 1959 will and codicils. Thus, with this testimony, the attorney unequivocally denied that John, the beneficiary of the 1973 will, had anything to do with retaining him and initiating the first meeting between Julia and himself. Atty. Sensenbrenner stated that Julia's first priority for a change in the will was to remove John Dempsey as her personal representative and probating attorney, as she had a strong dislike for her husband's life-long friend and estate planner. On October 16, 1973, as Atty. Sensenbrenner was presenting Julia with the newly drafted codicil removing Dempsey as a fiduciary, Julia directed him to draft a new will. The scrivener, in his testimony, explained that Julia wanted a plain, simple will leaving everything to John, including any and all assets received from her husband's estate. John confirmed the attorney's testimony in denying that he had procured the services of Atty. Sensenbrenner and further his recollection was that he had told Regner that in fact Julia had retained the service of the attorney. The following excerpt from the testimony explains John's participation in his mother's estate planning following his father's death:  Q. Now, after your father died, did you talk to your mother at any time about estate planning?  The Witness: Yes, I did.  Q. When?  A. I would say beginning within a few days after my father's death, and probably continuing until she went to Florida at the end of November, I would think.  Q. . . . How did it arise, if you discussed it with her?  A. Well, I think it arose that I felt with my father gone, and as far as I knew, he was my mother's prime contact as far as estate planning or discussions of that type were concerned, I felt somewhat  well, I felt a definite obligation to step in and talk about these things with my mother, an obligation I guess to try to do whatever I could in this regard, to assist or direct or see what her idea was or whatever assistance I could be.  Q. How did it come about so far as you know, how did you become aware of the fact that your mother had discussed estate planning with Joe Sensenbrenner? . . .  The Witness: My wife told me that my mother had told her that she did not intend to retain John Dempsey as her attorney. So, as I recall, on my next visit I asked my mother if that was correct, if that was true; and she said, yes, that she had retained Joe Sensenbrenner as her attorney, or words to that effect.  Q. And after that did you have any other discussions with your mother about estate planning prior to, let's take it prior to November 1, 1973?  A. Yes, I believe I did.  Q. What did you say to your mother on those occasions?  A. Well, we talked about the matter of gift giving to my children, in the interest of by-passing a generation with those gifts. We may have also discussed gifts to me and/or my wife; and after I learned she had retained Joe Sensenbrenner, or perhaps even before, I talked about the possibility of leaving some property through her will to my children, and also to my wife. The following excerpts from the testimony further illustrate the nature of the assistance John rendered to his mother and at her direction:  Q. Now, have you recited all the conversations and your recollection of all the conversations you had with your mother that you recall between October 8th and November 1, 1973, that had anything to do with gift programs or will provisions?  A. I had one conversation that I, or perhaps two, that I alluded to, but I'm not sure I covered them in detail or specific about it. This is in regard to the gift giving program, and after I received the October 24th letter from Arthur Anderson concerning that gift giving program I discussed this letter with my mother.  Q. What did you say to her, and what did she say to you?  A. She said this is very complicated, or words to that effect, and asked if I had covered this letter with Joe Sensenbrenner.  Q. What did you say?  A. I said, no, I had not.  Q. What did she say, if anything?  A. She said, talk to Joe about it, or words to that effect, and let me know what he says.  Q. Did you talk to Joe Sensenbrenner?  A. My recollection is, yes, that I did.  Q. Do you recall anything that was said?  A. I don't. Afraid I don't.  Q. Do you recall whether or not he told you that he disagreed?  A. I don't believe he told me that he disagreed, no.  Q. . . . Did you then talk to your mother again?  A. After the conversation with Joe?  Q. Yes.  A. Yes, I did.  Q. And what was that conversation?  A. Again, I don't recall the specifics of that conversation.  Q. I am talking about the second conversation, after you talked to Joe Sensenbrenner and you went back to your mother, do you recall the general substance of that conversation?  A. I was reporting back to my mother that Joe Sensenbrenner agreed that the gift giving program should be considered. [13] While there is evidence to support the fact that John assisted his mother at her direction with her estate plan revisions of October and November of 1973, the nature of this assistance must be distinguished as the evidence in the record does not indicate he served as her confidential advisor on these matters. The record as a whole supports the conclusion that John did not maintain a confidential relationship with his mother and thus the trial court's finding must be sustained and it is supported by the reviewing standard of the great weight and clear preponderance of the evidence. The appellant-objector's proof was insufficient to permit the inference to be drawn that John acted without Julia's permission in procuring the services of Atty. Sensenbrenner.