Lipper v. Weslow
Texas Court of Civil Appeals
369 S.W.2d 698 (1963)
Sophie Block died 22 days after executing a will drafted by her son and attorney, Frank Lipper (defendant), which left her estate to Lipper and her daughter Irene Lipper Dover (defendant) while disinheriting her deceased son's children, the Weslows (plaintiffs); the will's paragraph nine explained the disinheritance based on the Weslows' distant relationship and infrequent visits compared to Frank and Irene's care for their ailing parents. Frank had a contentious relationship with the Weslows' deceased father, lived next door to Block with a house key, and the will was not read to Block before signing and contained some inconsistencies in its stated reasons; the Weslows argued Frank had motive and opportunity to intercept cards and flowers meant for Block and thereby manipulate her feelings toward them. However, multiple witnesses testified Block had independently expressed intent to disinherit the Weslows both before and after executing the will, for reasons consistent with paragraph nine. The jury found for the Weslows, and Lipper and Dover appealed.
Whether, where contestants of a will have shown that a beneficiary of the will had the opportunity and motive to unduly influence the testator's testamentary plan, the contestants must also prove that the beneficiary substituted his wishes for the testator's preferred testamentary plan.