Did a caregiver pressure a testator to modify their will?

 Posted on March 04, 2026 in Probate Litigation

The people closest to a person who died often have an idea of what to expect in their will. Testators often share details about their documents with their close loved ones so that they know what they might inherit in the future.

Sometimes, families reviewing a will see terms that surprise them. They check the document and learn that the testator made last-minute changes in the final months of their life. Those changes might specifically benefit someone who acted as a caregiver to the older adults during their golden years. In such scenarios, family members may have reason to contest the will.

The caregiver may have exerted undue influence

A will should reflect a person's intentions. Other people do not have the right to demand concessions in a will or manipulate a testator into modifying their documents for personal gain.

When an outside party uses their relationship with a testator to affect the terms of a will, the legal term for that manipulation or coercion is "undue influence." Provided that family members can show that a person who received last-minute preferential consideration in a new version of an individual's will had access to them while they were vulnerable, it may be possible to contest the will. The courts may set it aside entirely or may agree to uphold an earlier version of the documents.

Reviewing problematic changes to an estate plan can help concerned family members fight back against the inappropriate influence of an outside party. Claims of undue influence are among the limited scenarios in which the probate courts may set aside an otherwise valid will during probate litigation.