Matters of the estate often bring up conflict due to the involvement of large amounts of assets. In fact, some people may try to take matters into their own hands and get more of an estate than the grantor wanted them to have.
They may do so through methods of manipulation and trickery. It is thus important to keep an eye out for potential signs of these things.
What is undue influence?
Cornell Law School examines undue influence by legal definition. Undue influence involves two parties: the manipulators and the victim, who is often the grantor of the targeted estate and will.
The aim of the manipulator(s) may differ from situation to situation. In most cases, they are after the assets and financial earnings of the grantor. They may also want power over the estate itself for various reasons.
What tools do they use?
They will use manipulation, fraud and other forms of deception in order to get their way. They often target grantors who are not always in a clear state of mind, such as those suffering from dementia. They use this state of confusion in order to control the victim and get them to do things they normally would not.
They can even trick a victim when they are confused, such as presenting a document falsely and getting the grantor to sign away assets, control over estate, or even make a manipulator into the estate executor.
Noticing any sudden and unexpected changes in a grantor’s will or estate plan should be enough reason to look into the possibility of undue influence or manipulation. The faster one catches it and takes action, the better.
