Real-world examples of undue influence often share common patterns that can help individuals and families recognize when it may be occurring.
- Undue influence may negate longstanding wishes. It occurs when someone uses pressure or manipulation to override another person’s free will and obtain an unfair result.
- Vulnerability increases risk. Elderly, dependent, and incapacitated individuals are usually more susceptible to undue influence.
- It may come from a trusted individual. Because family members, caregivers, and close acquaintances often occupy positions of apparent authority, they can more easily exert undue influence without being detected.
- Undue influence can manifest in various ways. It may include isolation, improper pressure, guilt-tripping, excessive affection, or the withholding of basic necessities and care.
How Does Undue Influence Typically Occur?
There are countless ways undue influence can occur, but it is most commonly used to obtain a particular outcome with respect to estate planning documents, contracts, gifts, or property transfers.
For example, someone might unduly influence another person to change a will or trust to benefit them, sign a contract that is not in their best interests, gift assets to someone they otherwise would not have, or transfer property in a way that contradicts their longstanding intentions.
While suspicious estate planning changes or unexpected property transfers may raise concerns, they do not necessarily establish undue influence. Courts consider several factors when determining whether a particular outcome was more likely than not the result of undue influence.
There are four specific elements California courts consider in undue influence cases. The table below explains how each element may appear in real-world situations.
The Elements of Undue Influence: What They Look Like in Practice | |
Element | What It Looks Like in Practice |
The vulnerability of the victim | People who appear vulnerable due to factors such as advanced age, cognitive decline, physical limitations, or mental illness may be more susceptible to undue influence. |
The influencer’s apparent authority | Because undue influence may develop gradually over time, the person exerting it is often a family member, caregiver, friend, or other individual who has consistent access and communication with the person and occupies a position of trust. |
The tactics employed | Undue influence can take subtle forms. It does not always involve overt pressure or persuasion. It may involve excessive affection, isolation, controlling access to necessities such as food or medication, interfering with sleep, or initiating changes to the person’s personal or property rights. |
Inequitable result | The outcome may depart significantly from the person’s prior wishes. This may include changes to estate planning documents that are drastically different from previous versions or decisions that are clearly detrimental to the person, their beneficiaries, or other loved ones. |
5 Real-World Ways People May Be Subjected to Undue Influence
Understanding the most common ways people are subjected to undue influence can help you recognize when it may have been used to obtain a particular result and, if the at-risk individual is still alive, take steps to prevent or stop it.
While undue influence can take countless forms, the five examples below represent scenarios probate firms commonly encounter and may therefore be among the most likely ways you or a loved one could be affected.
1. Adult Child Pressures Parent
The most recognizable undue influence scenario involves an adult child manipulating an elderly parent into changing their estate planning documents to favor them. To achieve this result, the child may apply constant pressure, repeatedly emphasize everything they have done for the parent, or threaten to withdraw care the parent depends on.
Often, the inequitable result of undue influence is not discovered until after the parent’s death, when changes to their estate plan come to light. These changes may affect the parent’s other children or relatives, whose inheritances may be reduced or eliminated as a result.
Fortunately, when estate planning changes are suspected to be the product of undue influence, the affected documents may be challenged. If the challenge is successful, the improper changes may be invalidated, allowing a prior version of the document to take effect or, if no prior version exists, causing the assets to pass to heirs through intestate succession.
2. New Spouse Isolates Partner
Isolation and restricted communication are tactics that romantic partners may use to obtain significant gifts or other financial benefits while avoiding detection by the individual’s loved ones.
For example, a new romantic partner may pressure an elderly individual to marry before they have had sufficient time to get to know each other and then use their position of trust and confidence to gradually discourage contact with family members and control the individual’s interactions with others. Over time, this can create dependence and make the elderly individual susceptible to further manipulation.
Once the partner has gained the elderly individual’s trust, the partner may use pressure or other tactics to achieve specific outcomes, such as disinheriting the individual’s children, transferring property to the partner, or naming the partner as the estate’s sole beneficiary.
While isolation alone does not establish undue influence, it can be a powerful tool for exerting control. If a loved one is being isolated without explanation or you are unable to reach them despite repeated attempts, it may be worth contacting an attorney and investigating the situation further to determine whether undue influence may be involved.
3. Relative Exploits Cognitive or Physical Decline
Individuals experiencing cognitive or physical decline are often dependent on loved ones or caregivers for help managing finances, getting to medical appointments, and meeting other daily needs. Unfortunately, this dependence can make them particularly vulnerable to undue influence.
For example, suppose an elderly individual is rapidly declining physically and mentally. A relative steps in under the guise of providing care to the elder but instead takes them to their own estate planning attorney to make changes to their trust that exclusively benefit the relative and drastically depart from the individual’s longstanding intention to leave their estate to their grandchildren.
While cognitive impairment alone does not establish undue influence, it can strengthen a claim when combined with dependence on another person, particularly if that dependence is exploited to achieve an unfair result. This risk is one reason families of aging, dependent, or incapacitated individuals may take precautions, such as establishing a power of attorney or seeking a conservatorship.
4. Caregiver Wrongfully Obtains Home
Caregivers often have the most contact with vulnerable individuals and, as a result, may develop close, confidential relationships with them. This trust and proximity can also give caregivers greater opportunities to exert undue influence for their own benefit.
For example, a caregiver might apply extreme pressure or withhold care, affection, or basic necessities until an individual transfers ownership of their home. They might even convince the individual that the transfer is harmless because they can remain in the home for life, with the caregiver taking ownership only after their death.
A caregiver’s involvement alone does not establish undue influence, but their close relationship with a vulnerable individual makes appropriate oversight important. In some circumstances, California law also creates a presumption of undue influence when certain caregivers are involved because they are considered “disqualified persons.” When the presumption applies, the burden may shift to the caregiver to show that the challenged document or transaction was made freely and voluntarily, rather than requiring the person challenging it to prove undue influence.
5. Fiduciary Benefits From Estate
Certain fiduciaries, such as drafters of estate plans and financial advisers, are considered “disqualified persons” under California law, meaning gifts or transfers to them may be presumed to result from undue influence. Fiduciaries are expected to act in the best interests of the person they represent, not use their position to benefit themselves.
For example, suppose an elderly individual names their longtime accountant as their agent under a power of attorney. As the individual becomes increasingly dependent on the accountant to manage their assets, the accountant repeatedly emphasizes their hard work and pressures the individual to leave them a significant gift in their trust as a “bonus” for their services. The gift is a drastic departure from the individual’s longstanding wish to leave everything to their spouse.
A fiduciary receiving a gift does not automatically establish undue influence, but their position of trust is a factor the court may consider. The nature of the relationship also matters. For example, an adult child who receives a gift for providing care may be viewed differently from an unrelated professional who uses a fiduciary position to obtain a similar benefit.
What Do These Undue Influence Examples Have in Common?
Although undue influence rarely looks the same from one situation to the next, the examples above share several key characteristics. In most instances, the individual being influenced is vulnerable in some way, while the person exerting the influence shares a close, confidential relationship with them, has regular access to them, or holds a position of trust.
The tactics used to exert undue influence can span a wide spectrum, but they are all essentially forms of manipulation and control. Some are obvious, such as repeated pressure or threats, while others are much more subtle. Excessive affection, guilt-tripping, the creation of dependence, and isolation may seem harmless on their own, but they can be used to unfairly benefit the person exerting the influence at the expense of the best interests or longstanding wishes of the individual being influenced.
That said, these circumstances alone do not establish undue influence. When several are present at once and are followed by an unexpected or inequitable result, however, they may warrant a closer look to determine whether an individual’s free will was overcome.
Can These Examples Be Grounds for a Legal Challenge?
The examples above may provide grounds for challenging a will, trust, gift, property transfer, or other transaction based on suspected undue influence. However, simply showing that one of these scenarios occurred is not enough to establish undue influence.
A legal challenge requires evidence that the individual did not act freely, but instead made the decision as a result of another person’s improper influence. The more evidence that supports the various elements of undue influence — including the individual’s vulnerability, the influencer’s position of authority, the tactics used, and the inequitable result — the stronger the claim typically is.
If the evidence establishes that undue influence was the most likely cause of the outcome, a court may invalidate the affected estate planning documents or unwind improper transactions. An invalidated document may be replaced by a prior valid version, cause assets to pass under a different estate plan or intestate succession, or result in improperly transferred property being returned.
Undue Influence Examples FAQs
Is undue influence a form of manipulation?
Yes. Undue influence is generally considered a form of manipulation.
“Manipulation” is a broad term used to describe controlling or influencing someone in a skillful or deceptive way for personal benefit. Undue influence is a more specific type of manipulation that involves using improper influence to overcome another person’s free will and cause them to act in a way they otherwise would not have.
While undue influence often involves a vulnerable individual, a person in a position of trust or authority, dishonest tactics, and an inequitable result, manipulation does not necessarily require any of these circumstances. Someone can manipulate another person without the situation rising to the level of undue influence.
What are the different types of undue influence?
The two primary types of undue influence are actual undue influence and presumed undue influence.
- Actual undue influence is established through evidence showing that an individual used improper influence to override another person’s free will and cause a particular result that otherwise would not have occurred.
- Presumed undue influence may arise when certain circumstances create a legal presumption that undue influence occurred. This most commonly applies when certain individuals, such as some caregivers and fiduciaries, receive donative transfers. When the presumption applies, the burden of proof may shift from the plaintiff to the disqualified person, who must rebut the presumption by showing that the individual acted independently, freely, and voluntarily when making the transfer.
Distinguishing between actual and presumed undue influence is important because it can determine which party bears the burden of proof and the type of evidence that must be presented to win the case.
Can undue influence occur without threats or physical coercion?
Yes. Undue influence typically involves subtler forms of manipulation than overt threats or physical coercion, such as excessive pressure, extreme affection, guilt-tripping, or withholding care and basic necessities. Importantly, threats or physical coercion do not need to be present to establish undue influence.
If threats or physical coercion are involved, however, the conduct may rise to the level of duress or even a crime, potentially exposing the person responsible to criminal charges in addition to civil penalties. Because threats and physical coercion can pose an immediate risk to someone’s safety, it is important to contact an attorney and, when appropriate, alert the proper authorities.
That said, threats and physical coercion may also be considered extreme forms of undue influence and can support a claim to invalidate or unwind documents or transactions obtained through them.
Who is the most vulnerable to undue influence?
Elders, dependent adults, and incapacitated individuals are typically among those most vulnerable to undue influence.
They may experience declining cognition, limited mobility, dependence on others for basic everyday needs, or difficulty protecting themselves and their assets from manipulation.
In general, the more vulnerable a person is, the more likely they are to depend on others and have difficulty recognizing or resisting improper influence. For this reason, families of vulnerable individuals should stay informed about their finances, transactions, and the people involved in their lives.
When an individual’s condition has significantly declined or is expected to do so, loved ones may also consider additional safeguards, such as establishing a power of attorney or seeking a conservatorship. Keep in mind, however, that mental capacity is required to make a power of attorney.
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