In re Estate of Sharis

Spinelli (defendant) moved in with his elderly grandmother Alice and gained nearly complete control of her checking account along with a broad durable power of attorney he himself prepared; he then contacted an attorney to draft a will for Alice, but neither the attorney nor his associate ever met with Alice in person to review the will's terms, communicating only with Spinelli, and Spinelli personally transported Alice to a nursing home where she executed the will before staff witnesses who saw nothing alarming, though Spinelli was not physically present during execution. The resulting will gave Spinelli the bulk of Alice's estate, and no family member knew of the will until after Alice's death; the trial judge found Alice actually lacked an especially close relationship with Spinelli and had even questioned why he needed to live with her, and Alice's daughter (plaintiff) successfully challenged the will as the product of undue influence, prompting Spinelli's appeal.