A friend of my Dad's pressured him into changing his Will. Six days later he was delcared mentally incompetent by Hospice as my Dad is dying from terminal cancer and has some dementia. The new Will my Dad signed gives a quarter of his estate to his step-son who's been dead for five years and was removed from his initial the Will signed in 2004. My Dad's friend also added my sister to the Will. My Dad wrote her out of the Will in 2004 also. My Dad's caretaker said he was pressured over the course of two days to redo his Will. The Will wasn't redone by my Dad's long time attorney but by an attorney hired by my Dad's friend. I'm my Dad's executor and Power of Attorney but I was never contacted about the changes. Question, do I have legal grounds to have this new Will revoked? It isn't what my Dad wanted. Thanks in advance! cmiller
Do you have financial or medical power of attorney and did your father sign a new Medical or Financial Powers of Attorney when he signed the new will?
And no, you won't be able to revoke the will unless you could somehow say that his doctors had declared him mentally unfit at the time the will was signed. That's just my non-attorney guess.
I don't have all the facts necessary to answer the question definitively, and these types of cases rarely lend themsleves to easy answers, but it sure sounds to me like you have grounds to challenge the new will. E-mail me through ClutchFans and I'll be happy to talk you through some of the issues.
Thanks so much! You're email isn't available on Clutchfans, can you email me at millerchris41@yahoo.com? Thanks again! cmiller
You should talk to your dad to see what he really wants and why (that is if he is competent). Afterward if you think that there is issues with the will, you should talk to your dad's long time attorney. He might have more insight wrt the potential legal actions. If you do take legal action, use a Wills and Estates board certified attorney. Being declared mentally incompetent 6 days after signing a new will is really fishy.
The doctor that declared him mentally incompetent might be incompetent... or... just in on the entire thing with your friend's dad to claim some money the dead guy can't. Good luck with this, dude. I know I wouldn't want to cheat anyone out of what's rightfully theirs (or that my dad truly wants).
I think there are 2 big questions. First, was he competent when he executed the new will? If so, was undue influence exerted upon him. Most lawyers will videotape the execution of a will in your father's circumstances to demonstrate he was competent. Additionally, I believe he execute a new will even though he is generally incompetent if he is lucid when executing the new will.
None of my business really, but why didn't the caretaker inform you of what was going on, so that you could intervene?
You do have the right to sell your Dad's house and keep the proceeds without telling anyone, older brother taught me that.
Yes, you can revoke the will. You have to prove that he was mentally incompetent at the time that he signed the will, or that there was an undue influence that led to the changing of the will. The fact that your dad was declared mentally incompetent less than a week later should weigh strongly in your favor. So should the testimony of the caretaker who witnessed the pressuring of your father when he was in a mentally weak state. You should seek an attorney to get the will revoked. Hope this helps. Good luck. PS: if you have any more questions, feel free to email me through the board and I'll do my best to answer them. I worked for a firm in Houston two years ago if you need any recommendations. Best of luck-- sorry to hear about this situation. I'm not so sure about that.
