One of the critical factors identified by the court with respect to
undue influence was Ralph’s mental state at the time. There were
times where the nurses noted that Ralphs decision making saw mild
difficulty and that he was having some confusion. However, the
doctors’ notes showed signs of contradiction by stating that he did
not have dementia. Other people who where with Ralph the day he
signed the will stated that he seemed normal and not confused. A
second critical factor identified by the court was that the will was
procured by Cora and Darrell and that the attorney did not witness
ralph signing the will.
I think that courts should do everything they legally can in order to
protect the elderly from fraud. Unfortunately, in today’s society I see
the elderly community being targeted often in scams and fraud. A
court should thoroughly look over evidence in each case in order to
determine if fraud or undue is present. In the case of Pace vs Steele, I
do not agree with the court’s decision to uphold the new will. The
fact that the attorney created the will off of notes that Cora had
written and that he did not witness ralph sign it are hard to look past.
Kubasek, K., N., Browne, M, N. Dhooge, J., L., Herron, J., D., Barkacs,
L., L. (2017). Dynamic Business Law fourth edition. McGraw-Hill.
New York, New York.
