How have the courts considered the role of suspicious circumstances in the issue of testamentary capacity and undue influence?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from James v. Field, 2001 BCCA 267 (CanLII):

The role of suspicious circumstances in relation to the issues of testamentary capacity and undue influence was considered in Vout v. Hay, 1995 CanLII 105 (SCC), [1995] 2 S.C.R. 876, 125 D.L.R. (4th) 431. In that case, an 81-year-old man had left a will under which the appellant was the executrix and major beneficiary. The appellant was 29 years old at the time of trial and had been a friend of the testator in the last few years of his life and had assisted him with various chores on his farm. The respondents, who were the surviving members of the testator's family, had challenged the validity of the will.

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