Still
More Suspicious Circumstances - Active Procurement
The
following indicia are used by some Courts in Will contests to
determine "active procurement" by a beneficiary. These come
from Florida law and the case "Estate of Carpenter," but
other States often use similar criteria:
1.
Isolating the testator and disparaging family members
2. Mental
inequality between the decedent and the beneficiary
3. The
reasonableness of the will or
trust provisions
4.
Presence of the beneficiary at the execution of the will
5.
Presence of the beneficiary on those occasions when the testator
expressed a desire to make a will
6.
Recommendation by the beneficiary of an attorney to draw the will
7.
Knowledge of the contents of the will by the beneficiary prior to
execution
8. Giving
of instructions on preparation of the will by the beneficiary to the
attorney drawing the will
9.
Securing of witnesses to the will by the beneficiary
10.
Safekeeping of the will by the beneficiary subsequent to execution
