The Facts
- T moved away from Washington to NYC in 1948
- Met Weiss who became T’s financial consultant
- Weiss moved into T’s apartment
- T bought expensive townhouse in 1951 and gave Weiss the top floor as an office
- Weiss ran the household
- Acted like a couple
- Weiss had a law degree and T gave Weiss complete confidence and trust
- Weiss took charge of T’s accounts and investments as if they belonged to both of them
- T died unexpectedly in 1959
- Starting in 1951, T made will sin successive years, each yea giving a greater percentage to Weiss
- The will drafted in 1958 gave almost all T’s property to Weiss
- A letter to T’s family, signed by T in 1951, was passed along to accompany each successive will.
- Was a “coming out of the closet at death” letter
- Letter espoused Weiss’ services and indispensability to T
- In 1952, T gave Weiss exclusive power over T’s body upon death and the power to make medical decisions should T be incapacitated
- Family disliked Weiss and his relationship w/ T
Procedural History
- Joel, T’s brother, moved to have the 1958 will set aside on the grounds of undue influence
- 2 jury trials, both found undue influence
The Issue
- Whether the instrument offered for probate was the free, untrammeled and intelligent expression of the wishes and intentions of testator
The Holding/Disposition
- No, affirmed
Court’s Reasoning
- In deposition, Weiss denied homosexual relationship and was never cross-examined
- Found that the undue influence began prior to 1951, tainting all of the prior wills and gifts to Walter
- Letter deemed to be evidence of complete domination by Weiss
T was easily pliable and taken advantage of