Puckett v. Krida
Court of Appeals of Tennessee
1994 Tenn. App. LEXIS 502 (1994)
After Alzheimer's patient Hooper began receiving round-the-clock home nursing care from Krida and Reeves (defendants), they cut her off from her previously trusted family and friends by falsely claiming her family was wasting her money and trying to institutionalize her -- her deepest fear -- while Krida took over her finances via an unrestricted power of attorney and severed her existing legal and financial relationships, ultimately benefiting from a will and deed disposing of Hooper's property in their favor. The trial court set aside both documents, and Krida and Reeves appealed.
Whether a will may be set aside where a confidential relationship between the will's proponents and the testator, coupled with a pattern of deceiving and isolating the testator, gives rise to an unrebutted presumption of undue influence.