When your elderly loved ones are crafting their estate plan, they may begin to show signs that someone else is pressuring them. This person could be directing and influencing your loved one from behind the scenes in order to get the majority of the inheritance.
Potentially noticing this problem means you need to pay special attention to a few various factors.
Isolation
According to the AARP, one way to make sure that you do not get accused of exerting undue influence on your elderly parents or loved ones while they write a will is to make sure they have time alone with other people. Similarly, this is something you should look for when trying to understand if someone else is influencing them.
Isolation could include cutting off other people from communicating with them or not allowing them to speak in private with attorneys.
Control
If the person who you worry is influencing your loved ones exerts a lot of control over where they go or who they talk to about their will, it could be a sign of this issue. This could happen if they are the ones contacting the legal team who deals with the will or if any witnesses only know the other person and not your loved ones.
Sudden changes
If you notice that your loved ones change who the beneficiary is for their will to this new person without letting anyone else know, it could be a sign that there is undue influence. The new beneficiary may also claim responsibility for coming up with the idea to change the will.
Staying aware of the ways that undue influence can harm your elderly loved ones while they plan for the future is important.
