In re Estate of Fisher

In Fisher, the Texarkana Court of Appeals upheld the Harrison County Court at Law's summary judgment dismissal of a will contest.  The contestants, the surviving lineal descendants of the decedent, challenged a will made five months before death that favored a nephew. The contest was based on undue influence, not lack of capacity.  The contestants alleged that the nephew repeatedly isolated and badgered the decedent to make the will in his favor. However, the court of appeals noted the lack of any evidence that the nephew played a direct role in the actual drafting and execution of the will. Also, there was some basis for the decedent to have favored his nephew and there was some provision for the contestants. I suspect the result would have been different had there been some evidence that the nephew had been involved in the actual preparation and execcution of the will, such as visiting with the attorney or having been around the execution.  Instead, the nephew was apparently thousands of miles away and there was no evidence he was even aware of the will's existence until later.