Eble v. Fidelity Title & Trust Co.

Citations

• 238 Pa. 585
• 86 A. 485
• 1913 Pa. LEXIS 1014

Syllabus

<p>Wills — Undue influence — Devisavit vel non — Evidence—Court and jury.</p> <p>1. Undue influence, to affect a will, must be such as subjugates the mind of the testator to the will of the person operating upon it, and where the charge is that such undue influence has been exercised on a strong and free mind, nothing short of direct, clear and convincing proof of fraud or coercion will prevail.</p> <p>2. In an issue devisavit vel non to determine whether a testamentary writing was procured by fraud and undue influence, binding instructions for the defendant are proper where it appears that the testatrix, a woman sixty-nine years of age, was of considerable business experience, strong mind and unimpaired mental faculties, that the will in question was drafted by the title officer of a trust company in accordance with the testatrix’s directions, revised by her so that more liberal provision was made for the contestant, and twice signed in tbe presence of disinterested witnesses; and it further appeared that the person alleged to have exercised such undue influence was not present when the directions were given for the preparation of the will, when it was drawn, or when it was executed and there was no evidence that he exercised any influence over testatrix in the preparation or execution of the will or that he knew of its contents until after testatrix’s death, nothing more appearing by contestant’s case than that such person had an opportunity to influence testatrix and a motive for doing so.</p>