Herster v. Herster

Citations

• 122 Pa. 239
• 16 A. 342
• 1889 Pa. LEXIS 626

Syllabus

<p>1. Undue influence exists wherever through weakness, ignorance, dependence, or implicit reliance of one on the good faith of another, the latter obtains an ascendency which prevents the former from exercising an unbiased judgment, and, to affect a will it must, in a measure at least, destroy free agency, and must operate on the mind of the testator at the time of making the will.</p> <p>2. Because a person of feeble intellect is much more easily influenced by undue means than is one of a vigorous mind, it follows, that in passing upon a question of undue influence, the strength and condition of the testator’s mind may become a proper, indeed, an essential subject of inquiry.</p> <p>3. In an issue raised upon the question of fraud and undue influence alone, though a testator’s declarations cannot have any force whatever in establishing the facts of fraud or undue influence, yot if they are reasonably connected in point of time with the testamentary act, they are admissible as tending to show the state and condition of the testator’s mind.</p> <p>4. In order that declarations of the testator that are not made at the very time of the execution of the will, may be considered at all upon an issue of undue influence, there must be proof of other facts and circumstances indicating circumvention or fraud in the procurement of the will, for such declarations are received, not as proof of the fact, but to show that there are grounds for apprehending and opportunities for exercising undue influence.</p> <p>5. Declarations made before and after the testamentary act have some significance in showing inferentially the mental condition at the time of it, hence the limitations which govern the admission of such evidence must depend largely on the character of the unsoundness attempted to be proved, and some latitude of proof must be allowed, subject to the judgment of the court in each particular ease.</p> <p>6. As the object of making a will is to disturb the equality of distri