The critical factors identified by the court with respect to undue
influence and fraud in the case of Pace v. Steele were whether Ralph
Steele was coerced into creating a will favoring certain family
members during a time where his mental capacity was lacking at the
time of creation and signing.
Undue influence is noted as “malign influence which results from
fear, coercion, or any other cause that deprives the testator of his
free agency in the disposition of his property” (Kubasek et. al, 2019).
In Ralph Steele’s situation, he signed the will in January 2013 prior
to the subsequent medical documents in February stating he was
unable to sign or comprehend a form due to dementia.
The issue I see in this situation is more to do with the sole
preparation by Cora and the lack of a present attorney when the
completed will was signed. While I grant it is not as clear cut with
regard to an individual who has nieces and nephews, rather than
direct children, I feel there should have been a review of Cora’s notes
and confirmation by Ralph regarding Cora’s statement that all his
property be left to her and Darrell. Although they are helping their
uncle and may have only had good intentions, the person they are
acting on behalf of should have been included and consulted.
I do believe the courts should ensure the elderly are protected more
so than normal due to the more common inconsistency of their
mental states as they age. I also believe that although Ralph only had
“mild difficulty with appropriate decision making” on the day the will
was signed, the signing should have been either postponed until he
was fully coherent or additional accommodations should have been
made for the circumstances. This is especially so due to the fact that
Ralph’s attorney was also not present when the will was signed.
Kubasek, N., Browne, N. M., Herron, D., Dhooge, L., & Barkacs, L.
(2019). Dynamic Business Law (5th ed.). McGraw Hill.
