In re Estate of Jenks

Summary

The Minnesota Supreme Court considers a challenge to the probate of Harry E. Jenks’s will based on alleged undue influence by his second wife. The court holds that the evidence, including the familial relationships, the will’s unequal disposition, and the circumstances of execution, did not establish that the testator ceased to act as a free agent. The judgment affirming probate of the will is affirmed.

Holdings

1. The evidence did not establish undue influence as a matter of law, and the district court correctly affirmed probate of the will.
2. A harsh or unnatural will is not, standing alone, evidence of undue influence, although it may be considered with other evidence tending to establish undue influence.
3. The testator's failure to read the will at the execution ceremony did not establish lack of knowledge of its contents or undue influence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence established undue influence as a matter of law despite the district court's contrary finding.
2. Whether the testator's exclusion of his son, the favorable treatment of his second wife's children, and the failure to read the will in the subscribing witnesses' presence established undue influence.
3. Whether the contestant met the burden of proving that another person exerted constraint or pressure that caused the testator to cease acting as a free agent.

Disposition

affirmed