Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Elder Abuse & A Will

My great grandmother just passed a couple of days ago. My grandmother(who is an alcoholic) was living with her. My mom went to the house when my Gram was in the hospital and videotaped it because the conditions were so bad. My Gram had stopped eating because she was told that she would be poisoned. She was 94. She broke her hip in August and had been on meds for a long time. A new will was drafted. They finally got her to sign it late December. The witness's are the only beneficiaries,(2) and they brought in their own notary to the house. She hadn't even died when they started cleaning out her house. They both accuse each other of abuse of my grandmother. My other grandmother is also the executor. I don't want any money, just don't want them to benefit from helping to kill her off. They were always threatening her. Her former will was much different. It had been the same for 34 years. Do I have any recourse? At least to let it go on record that she was being abused the way she was? I live in OKC and want to at least protect her memory. And for the record, she died of a Urinary Tract Infection. There was no power of attorney, so they made the decision to not feed her with a tube. She went in walking and talking.


Asked on 2/13/03, 11:03 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Mina Sirkin Sirkin & Sirkin

Re: Elder Abuse & A Will

This is an interesting case in that California Law provides that a beneficiary who is a witness has the burden of proving that there was no undue influence regarding the benefit received in the will. What is the relationship of the 2 beneficiaries to your grandmother? Depending on the estate size, it may or may not be worth it to contest the will, but I will need more information to be able to tell.

Also, what facts are there regarding the elder abuse claim?

Regards,

Mina Sirkin

[email protected]

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Answered on 2/14/03, 3:39 am
Chris Johnson Christopher B. Johnson, Attorney at Law

Re: Elder Abuse & A Will

If the witnesses are the beneficiaries as well, there is usually a (rebuttable) presumption that the beneficiaries gained their gifts by undue influence, so it's possible the gifts in the will may not be valid.

Regarding elder abuse--if it's proven, this may also invalidate inheritance rights, but proving it may be difficult. You should have an attorney review the former and current will, along with the facts surrounding the wills, to get a more detailed answer.

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Answered on 2/14/03, 12:01 am


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