Undue Influence Case

Justice for a Family Betrayed

When our clients came to us, they had just discovered that an alleged friend of their sister—someone who had inserted herself into their sister’s life during her final months, when the sister was suffering from a number of health concerns — was trying to gain access to even more family assets. This individual used undue influence over my clients’ sister to have herself named as both trustee and sole beneficiary, subverting a long-standing plan to leave the estate to family. What should have been a clear and rightful inheritance to family members was instead redirected to an outsider through deception and manipulation.

The situation escalated when the same individual attempted to claim distribution rights to my clients’ mother’s estate as well. Our team investigated the events leading up to the sister’s death and uncovered compelling evidence of undue influence and misconduct. The probate court ruled in our favor, recognizing the wrongdoing and restoring justice to the family. That positive outcome was recently affirmed by the appellate court and the California Supreme Court.

Watch the video from the Appellate Court hearing, and read the opinion document for more details about the facts of the case.