BALANCING TESTAMENTARY INCAPACITY AND UNDUE INFLUENCE: HOW TO HANDLE WILL CONTESTS OF TESTATORS WITH DIMINISHING CAPACITY RICHARD B. KEETON* I.
II.
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 53 REQUISITE MENTAL CAPACITY TO EXECUTE A WILL ................... 57
A. Missouri: Lewis v. McCullough ........................................... B. New York. In re Estate of Kumstar ...................................... C. Texas.: Prather v. McClelland ............................................... III. IV.
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V I.
60 62 62 THE PRESUMPTION OF TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY ..................... 64 PROVING UNDUE INFLUENCE IN THE EXECUTION OF TESTAMENTARY DOCUMENTS ......................................................
A. Missouri ................................................................................
66 69
B . N ew York .............................................................................. C. Texas ....................................................................................
70 72
CAN A TESTATOR BE UNDULY INFLUENCED IF HE OR SHE LACKS TESTAMENTARY CAPACITY? ................................................ 74 C ONCLUSION ................................................................................. 78
I.
INTRODUCTION
As the baby boomer' population ages 2-and accordingly, there is an increase 3 in the number of people who suffer and die from the effects of
J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law; M.P.A., Texas Tech University; B.A. in History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The author would like to thank Professor Vaughn James for his review and comments on earlier drafts of this Article and for his continued dedication to address legal and practical issues arising from Alzheimer's disease. The author is also extremely grateful to the staff of the South Texas Law Review for their invaluable editorial assistance. This Article was written in memory of the author's father, Richard W. Keeton. 1. The term "baby boomers" represents the United States population born between 1946 and 1964, which is approximately 76.4 million. Baby Boomers, HISTORY.COM (2010), http://www.history.com/topics/baby-boomers; see also Baby Boom, ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/47555/baby-boom (last updated Oct. 28, 2014) ("The needs of baby boomers during their retirement years [are] expected to strain public resources.").