- undue influence
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undue influence n: improper influence that deprives a person of freedom of choice or substitutes another's choice or desire for the person's own compare coercion, duress, necessity◇ It is a doctrine of equity that a contract, deed, donation, or testamentary disposition can be set aside if the court finds that someone has exercised undue influence over the maker at the time that the contract, conveyance, or will was made. To establish a prima facie case it is usu. necessary to show a susceptibility to undue influence (as from mental impairment), the opportunity and disposition on someone's part to exercise such influence, and that the transaction would not have been made except for the undue influence.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- undue influence
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I
noun
absolutism, arbitrary power, coercion, compulsion, conscription, constraint, despotism, dominance, domination, duress, enforcement, high pressure methods, impelling, impressment, inducement, insistence, necessitation, predominance, pressure, repression, subjugation
associated concepts: exertion of undue influence, invalidation of a will
II
index
coercion, pressure
Burton's Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006
- undue influence
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n.Excessive or improper influence exerted on a person writing a will or giving away property by someone who wants to take away the person’s free will and dominate the action; influence that interferes with someone’s free will or judgment and subjugates it to someone else’s wishes.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
- undue influence
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in the law of contract, the doctrine that will render a contract at least voidable if a person is reasonably considered to be in a position of trust (used non-technically) in relation to another person and abuses that trust. National Westminster Bank v . Morgan [1985] AC 686. This doctrine or a variety of it has allowed courts in the UK to prevent banks exercising mortgage powers against spouses who have been taken advantage of by the customer spouse: Barclays Bank v. O'Brien [1994] 1 AC 180; Smith v. Bank of Scotland 1997 SLT 1061.
Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001.
- undue influence
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Improper influence over someone who is making financial decisions, commonly about making gifts,leaving property at death, or signing a contract.Typically, it occurs when the person is susceptible to pressure because of illness or emotional state, and is taken advantage of by someone he or she depends on for guidance—for example, a lawyer or family member.Undue influence is a ground for challenging the validity of a will or other document in court. (See also: will contest)Category: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Estates, Executors & Probate CourtCategory: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Living Trusts & Avoiding ProbateCategory: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Wills
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- undue influence
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n. A persuasive power sufficient to sway the free will of a donor or testator. Such influence constitutes just cause for a court to nullify a will or invalidate a donor's gift. A contract may not be binding if one party has undue influence over the other; for example, one between an employer and an employee or between a priest and a penitent.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- undue influence
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A judicially created defense to transactions that have been imposed upon weak and vulnerable persons that allows the transactions to be set aside.
Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.
- undue influence
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A judicially created defense to transactions that have been imposed upon weak and vulnerable persons that allows the transactions to be set aside.
Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.
- undue influence
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n.the amount of pressure which one uses to force someone to execute a will leaving assets in a particular way, to make a direct gift while alive or to sign a contract. The key element is that the influence was so great that the testator (will writer), donor (gift giver) or party to the contract had lost the ability to exercise his/her judgment and could not refuse to give in to the pressure. Evidence of such dominance of another's mind may result in invalidation of the will, gift or contract by a court if the will, gift or contract is challenged. Participation in preparation of the will, excluding other relatives being present when the testator and the attorney meet, are all evidence of undue pressure, and an imbalance or change in language which greatly favors the person exercising the influence is a factor in finding undue influence. Example: Pete Pounder constantly visits his aunt Agnes while she is ill and always urges her to leave her mansion to him instead of to her son. Pounder threatens to stop visiting the old lady, who is very lonely, tells her she is ungrateful for his attention, finally brings over an attorney who does not know Agnes and is present while she tells the attorney to write a new will in favor of Pounder.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.
