G.A.S. v. S.I.S.
Family Court of Delaware, New Castle County
407 A.2d 253 (Del. Fam. Ct. 1978)
G.A.S. (plaintiff), a husband suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and cycling in and out of hospital treatment, wanted to save his marriage after his wife S.I.S. (defendant) filed for divorce. The wife and her attorney brought the husband into the attorney office and presented him with a separation agreement while he was recovering from a schizophrenic episode, on multiple medications, and spending nights in the hospital; he signed without reading it or having his own counsel review it, believing it would help reconcile the marriage. The agreement required him to pay 50 monthly in child support against a ,300 monthly salary and gave the wife control of the marital home and the family beach house. The husband sued to rescind the agreement for undue influence, and the trial court ruled for the wife.
Whether undue influence occurs when a party in a dominant position has the opportunity to exert influence over an inferior party, has a disposition to exert that influence for an improper purpose, and actually exerts it.