By Pavey Law LLP, April 4th, 2025
Undue influence is a high legal threshold to meet. If you believe that your loved one has been subject to undue influence in drafting their Will, what can you do about it?
Undue influence is not like challenging a Will based on the testator (the writer of the Will) not having mental capacity or not being able to understand their wishes. In those cases, an elderly person’s faculties may have diminished to the point where they are asking to change their Will in ways that do not make sense, or do not align with how they have lived out the majority of their life. Undue influence instead is where a testator has been coerced by someone in their lives who has an overpowering influence on them, and they have ultimately been bent to have the Will align with this person’s wishes. A small or moderate amount of influence is not enough in these cases. In other words, that child or grandchild who asks for the cottage or the boat may be pesky, but their mere ask does not equate to undue influence.
You may not care for your mother’s new beau, or a nurse that your father has taken a shine to, but that does not necessarily mean that they have asserted an undue influence over their decision making. Older persons are still allowed to make their own decisions, even if some of those decisions may seem disagreeable.
Yet if you do believe that there has been undue influence within your family, speaking to an estate litigator can help.
Estate litigation is not simple and challenging a will can be a costly venture. However, in cases of undue influence, it can potentially help right the wrongs that have been done within your family, and mend relationships torn apart by hurt feelings and mistaken choices.
Pavey Law LLP, Cambridge, Ontario
