Law of Wills, 2016A

slipping the wheatgrass on his salads. One day, Roger saw Charmaine sprinkle something on his
salad. He told Lester that Charmaine was trying to kill him. Lester confronted Charmaine and she
told him that she put wheatgrass on Roger’s salad to give him energy. In order to convince Roger
that she was not trying to kill him. Charmaine sprinkled the wheatgrass on the salad and ate half of
it. In response, Roger said, “You took the anecdote to the poison, so you won’t die. The moment I
eat it I’m a goner.” Lester had the powder analyzed at a private lab and showed Roger the results. In
response, Roger said, “You’re in it with her. You are both dead to me.” The next day, Roger
changed his will, and left his entire estate to Nathan. After Roger died, Lester and Charmaine filed
an action to set aside the will because it was a product of an insane delusion. What are the strongest
arguments on each side? How might the court decide the case?
(c) Paige was a ninety-two year old widow who still maintained her own home. She had two sons
Clyde and Beau, and a daughter Jeannette. Paige’s son, Jackson, predeceased her; Jackson was
survived by a wife, Marie, and two children, Bernard and Lillie. Because of her poor eyesight and a
degenerative muscle disease that caused her hands to shake, Paige relied solely on her unmarried
son, Beau, to pay her bills, to take her grocery shopping and to take her to doctor appointments.
Paige’s daughter, Jeannette lived in Spain. Paige refused to accept any assistance from Clyde because
he did not “do as he was told and divorce his wife, Janet.” Paige thought Clyde was weak, unduly
protective of Janet, and inattentive to Paige’s needs. Paige’s dislike of Janet stemmed from an
overheard telephone conversation between Janet and a man, which had taken place five years earlier.
Upon overhearing the conversation, Paige assumed Janet was having an affair with another man.
Paige confronted Clyde with the information. Clyde explained to Paige that the overheard telephone
conversation was between Janet and her brother, Alan, who was planning to visit them. He
explained that Janet was only arranging a time to pick Alan up from the airport. Clyde also tried to
explain to Paige that it was natural for Janet to tell her brother that she loved him. Although Clyde’s
version of the story was the truth, Paige refused to believe it. She insisted that Clyde divorce Janet.
Clyde refused to get a divorce, so Paige stopped speaking to him. On a trip to her doctor’s office,
accompanied by Beau, Paige indicated that, when she died, she wanted to leave all of her 1.2 million
dollar estate to Beau. Beau thanked Paige and told her that, unlike his brother Clyde who would
probably spend all of his mother’s money buying luxuries for Janet, he would truly appreciate the
property. At that time, Beau neglected to tell Paige that he was having an affair with Janet. Paige
changed her will and left her entire estate to Beau. She told her lawyer she was making the change
because Janet was an adulteress. After Paige died, Clyde and Jeannette filed an action to set aside the
will because it was a product of an insane delusion. What are the strongest arguments on each side?
How might the court decide the case?
(d) Amanda Nelson, a 52 year old single woman, was a member of a religious sect called Keepers of
the Light. Amanda and other members of the religion worshiped Yaka, a firefly, and his children.
The group believed that one day they would be rewarded by being physically transformed into his
image. Phillip, the head of the sect, told the members that in order to receive their reward, they had
to leave all of their worldly goods to Keepers of the Light. Thus, Amanda executed a will leaving her
entire 20 million dollar estate to Phillip. After Amanda died, her sisters, Tina and Carmen, filed an
action challenging the validity of her will. What is the possible outcome?
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