The critical factors that were identified in the Pace vs. Steele case by
the court was that Cora and Darrell procured Ralph's will. Cora and
Darrell took advantage of the condition of Ralph's state of mind and
was unable to make decisions for himself. Ralph showed signs that he
did not have the mental capacity to decide along with being
influenced by the individuals. Ralph should have had a representative
to help prepare his own will. Instead, Cora created a will that
specified Ralph's property would go to Darrell and Cora, influencing
Ralph's decision, however their attorney could not state if the
signature was willing or generated since he was not present. Having
proper witnesses and representation allowed the will to uphold when
the individual passes away which is one of the requirements. Other
requirements are to have a written will to avoid fraud along with
ensuring the person signing has the testamentary capacity. January
2013, Ralph signed the will when he was at HealthSouth a month
later, he was transferred to Lawrence County Nursing Center where
they stated Ralph was not able to make decisions at times along with
stating Ralph was “unable to sign/comprehend the form due to
dementia” in February 2013. Since HealthSouth did not report
dementia at the time, he sign the document and Lawrence County
Nursing Center stated he was not able to make decisions, the
Supreme Court ruled to hold Ralph responsible for his signature and
acknowledgement of the will. With the lack of proper documentation
of Ralph being mentally impaired and the time of the signature, the
court ruled in Cora and Darrell’s favor.
The courts should protect the elderly and infirm from undue
influence and fraud. There are many situations when family members
or care takers take advantages of the elderly when royalties are
involved. Money brings out greed in people which is why the courts
should investigate this case further and take all situations into
consideration. Ralph was in a fragile state with his wife passing and
recovering from surgery while on medication which could have
impaired his decision. Since one of the requirements is to have two
witnesses at the time of signing the will, I don’t think the two
witnesses should both be the ones who are in the will. This could
skew the witness’s judgment when being truthful on the last wishes
of the individual. Although Cora and Darrell were Ralph’s original
Next of Kin for all assets, some of the parts of their statement is
unethical.
Reference:
Kubasek, N. K., Browne, M. N., Dhooge, L. J., Herron, D. J., &
Barkacs, L., (2020). Legal Issues Related to
Wills. McGraw-Hill Connect
