Imagine a situation in which a loved one was living in an assisted-living facility in Denver toward the end of his life. Your loved one became very attached to a specific caregiver during this time. Realizing this, the caregiver decided to take advantage of your loved one by suggesting that she be included in your loved one’s will. Not realizing that he is being taken advantage of, your loved one makes the changes to his will. Unfortunately, you and your family don’t find out about the changes until after your loved one has passed away.
Sadly, situations like this are more common than you might think. When a greedy caregiver or relative takes advantage of an elderly individual in this way, however, it is possible to contest the will.
The situation we described above would be considered undue influence. If an individual claims that the decedent was manipulated into changing his or her will, it is important to be able to show that the claim is true. To do this, a person will have to show that the decedent was incapable of making his or her own decisions at the time of the will change and that the individual accused of manipulation did indeed influence the changes.
An attorney can help a person making a claim of undue influence conduct an investigation into the situation. By reviewing medical records, talking to medical professionals including psychologists, gathering eyewitness testimony, and performing background checks on those who were involved in making the last-minute changes to the will, a case can be built to challenge the authenticity of the will.
Finding out that a loved one was taken advantage of at the end of his or her life is heartbreaking. By collecting the proper evidence, however, it may be possible to recover any property that was wrongfully distributed.
To learn more about this topic, please visit the contested wills page of our website.