Burden Shifting in Will Contest Cases

Abstract:     
Provides a good illustration for students who are in the process of drafting law review articles, because it sets up the fairly basic and practical contours of a scholarly piece that includes an historical background, thesis-specific factual discussions from the relevant case law, and analysis that has a clear connection to a published judicial source. This paper begins with a recent case at the time the article was written and then synthesizes related precedent over a period of several decades (from 1858 to 1996). With the guidance of an intermediate court of appeals judge, the paper suggests analytical approaches to clarifying case law that was, in 1996, difficult to comprehend and then synthesize.

Keywords: burden shifting, will contest, confidential relationship. undue influence, Rules of Evidence, FRE 301 presumption, testator

JEL Classifications: K1, K19, K30, K39, K41

Accepted Paper Series