Undue Influence: Definitions and Applications - California Courts ...
Undue Influence: Definitions and Applications - California Courts ...
Undue Influence: Definitions and Applications - California Courts ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
The doctrine of undue influence derives from English courts. A will contest heard by Sir<br />
Francis Bacon as the Lord Chancellor of Engl<strong>and</strong> in 1617 illustrates common aspects of the<br />
process of undue influence which emerged in the context of a will contest. These aspects include<br />
frail health, <strong>and</strong> physical dependency, false affection, relationship poisoning, threats <strong>and</strong><br />
mistreatment, <strong>and</strong> involvement in the execution of documents by <strong>and</strong> in favor of the alleged<br />
abuser ((Welden-Smith, 2009; Appendix B) (Nerenberg, 2010; Appendix C)).<br />
A woman, having acquired an influence over an old <strong>and</strong> weak man, induced him by<br />
pretending affection for him <strong>and</strong> prejudicing him against his relatives to make a deed <strong>and</strong><br />
a will in her favour, <strong>and</strong> thereafter by threats <strong>and</strong> cruelty prevented him from revoking<br />
these instruments, by virtue of which on his death she became possessed of his entire real<br />
<strong>and</strong> personal estate. In a suit by his next-of-kin against her <strong>and</strong> her husb<strong>and</strong>: Held, that<br />
the deed <strong>and</strong> will should be made void; that the plaintiffs were entitled to the estate of the<br />
deceased; that they should have administration of the personal estate; <strong>and</strong> that there<br />
should be an inquiry as to all the personal estate <strong>and</strong> in whose h<strong>and</strong>s all or any part<br />
thereof was or had been.<br />
Held, also, that the Attorney-General should be advised that complaint should be made of<br />
the woman’s conduct in the Star Chamber with a view to some exemplary punishment<br />
being inflicted upon her. (Appendix A)<br />
Community Practitioners<br />
The need for a clear definition of undue influence is also due to the “discovery” <strong>and</strong><br />
upsurge in the reporting of elder abuse <strong>and</strong> neglect. This phenomenon, first described in the<br />
1980s in the United States, resulted in a number of publications <strong>and</strong> research projects, as well as<br />
changes in state laws across the country. Various community agencies <strong>and</strong> organizations,<br />
especially Adult Protective Services, began working with aspects of elder abuse <strong>and</strong> neglect<br />
including undue influence. The “discovery” of elder abuse led to the “discovery” of undue<br />
influence (Nerenberg, 2008).<br />
Community practitioners such as hospital discharge planners, physicians, <strong>and</strong> Adult<br />
Protective Services professionals provide the supporting information for petitions for<br />
conservatorship. They, too, deal with undue influence, but from a different perspective than the<br />
3