Undue Influence Trust Contests in California

When a parent’s trust is changed late in life to favor a new caregiver or the one child who controlled access to them, family members often suspect the change was not really their loved one’s choice. California law allows beneficiaries and heirs to challenge a trust, a trust amendment, or a will on the ground of undue influence. This article explains how California defines undue influence, what evidence matters, when the law presumes it, who may file, the deadlines, and the probate court process.

What Is Undue Influence Under California Law?

Probate Code §86 provides that “undue influence” has the same meaning as in Welfare and Institutions Code §15610.70, and states that this definition supplements the common law meaning. Section 15610.70 defines undue influence as excessive persuasion that causes another person to act or refrain from acting by overcoming that person’s free will and that results in inequity. Courts consider four groups of factors:

• Vulnerability of the victim. Incapacity, illness, disability, injury, age, education, impaired cognitive function, emotional distress, isolation, or dependency, and whether the influencer knew or should have known about it.
• The influencer’s apparent authority. Status as a fiduciary, family member, care provider, health care professional, legal professional, spiritual adviser, or another position of trust.
• Actions or tactics used. Controlling necessaries of life, medication, the person’s interactions with others, access to information, or sleep; using affection, intimidation, or coercion; initiating changes in personal or property rights; using haste or secrecy; and making changes at inappropriate times and places.
• Equity of the result. The economic consequences, any departure from the person’s prior intent or course of dealing, the value conveyed compared with the value of any services provided, and whether the change makes sense given the length and nature of the relationship.

The statute also says that evidence of an inequitable result, without more, is not sufficient. Undue influence is also different from lack of capacity: a person may have enough capacity to sign a trust and still be unduly influenced. Contests often plead both theories, along with fraud and, where the facts support it, financial elder abuse.

Common Signs and Evidence of Undue Influence

Undue influence is usually proved through circumstantial evidence. Warning signs include:

• A late-life amendment that sharply departs from a long-standing estate plan.
• A new or larger gift to a caregiver, a new romantic partner, or the only relative with daily access.
• Isolation, such as changed phone numbers, discouraged visits, intercepted mail, or a move away from family and friends.
• The beneficiary chose the drafting attorney, attended meetings, relayed instructions, or paid for the documents.
• Secrecy around the signing, or a rushed signing during a hospital stay or a period of decline.
• Financial changes at the same time, such as new joint accounts, changed payable-on-death designations, deed transfers, or large checks.

Helpful evidence includes medical records, caregiver notes, prior wills and trusts, bank statements, emails and texts, and testimony from friends, clergy, and treating physicians. The drafting attorney’s file can be important; Evidence Code §957 provides that the attorney-client privilege does not apply to communications relevant to an issue between parties who all claim through the deceased client.

The Statutory Presumption Under Probate Code §21380

For some gifts, the law shifts the burden. Probate Code §21380 presumes that a donative transfer is the product of fraud or undue influence when it goes to:

• The person who drafted the instrument.
• A person in a fiduciary relationship with the transferor who transcribed the instrument or caused it to be transcribed.
• A care custodian of a transferor who is a dependent adult, if the instrument was executed while the custodian was providing services or within 90 days before or after that period.
• Certain relatives, cohabitants, and employees of those people, and certain members of the drafter’s law firm.

In most cases the beneficiary can rebut the presumption only with clear and convincing evidence that the transfer was not the product of fraud or undue influence. For a gift to the drafter, or to someone related to or associated with the drafter, the presumption is conclusive. If a beneficiary tries and fails to rebut the presumption, the statute requires that beneficiary to bear all costs of the proceeding, including reasonable attorney’s fees. There are exceptions, including gifts to certain relatives and instruments reviewed by an independent attorney who signs a certificate of independent review under Probate Code §21384.

Separately, California case law recognizes a presumption of undue influence when the beneficiary had a confidential relationship with the person, actively participated in procuring the document, and received an undue benefit. When that presumption applies, the beneficiary must show the gift was not the product of undue influence.

Who Has Standing to File an Undue Influence Contest?

In general, a person may bring a contest if they would receive more if the challenged document or gift were set aside. That usually includes beneficiaries under an earlier version of the trust or will, beneficiaries whose shares were reduced, and heirs who would inherit under California intestacy rules if the whole plan failed. Trust contests are usually brought by petition under Probate Code §17200, which allows a trustee or beneficiary to ask the court to rule on the internal affairs of a trust, including the validity of a trust provision. For wills, Probate Code §48 defines the “interested person” who may participate. Our article on how to contest a will or trust in California covers standing in more detail.

Deadlines: The 120-Day Rules

Trusts. When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because the settlor died, Probate Code §16061.7 requires the trustee to serve a notification on beneficiaries and heirs, generally within 60 days. Under Probate Code §16061.8, a person served with that notice may not bring an action to contest the trust more than 120 days after the notice was served, or 60 days after a copy of the trust terms is delivered during that 120-day period, whichever is later. The notice must warn recipients of this deadline.

Wills. An interested person may file written objections before the court admits a will to probate. After the will is admitted, Probate Code §8270 allows a petition to revoke the probate within 120 days after admission, with exceptions for people who already contested or had actual notice of a contest in time to join it.

Missing these deadlines can permanently bar a claim. Without a proper notice, other limitation periods may apply.

No-Contest Clauses and Probable Cause (§21311)

Many trusts and wills contain a no-contest clause that takes away the gift of a beneficiary who challenges the document. Under Probate Code §21311, a no-contest clause can be enforced against a “direct contest” only if the contest is brought without probable cause, and a claim that a document is invalid because of undue influence is a direct contest. Probable cause exists if, at the time of filing, the facts known to the contestant would cause a reasonable person to believe there is a reasonable likelihood that the requested relief will be granted after an opportunity for further investigation or discovery. A clause can also reach challenges to the ownership of property and creditor claims, but only if it expressly says so.

How the Case Moves Through Probate Court

1. Investigation. Request the trust terms, collect prior estate plans, and build a timeline of health, relationships, and finances.
2. Petition. The contest is filed in the probate department of the superior court and served on the trustee and other interested parties.
3. Responses and discovery. The other side responds. Both sides use records subpoenas, written discovery, and depositions of witnesses, caregivers, and the drafting attorney.
4. Mediation and settlement. Many probate courts encourage or order mediation, and many contests settle.
5. Trial. Probate Code §825 provides that, unless the code expressly says otherwise, there is no right to a jury trial in Probate Code proceedings, so a judge usually decides. In a will contest, Probate Code §8252 places the burden of proving undue influence on the contestant, subject to any presumption that shifts it.

Possible Remedies

• Setting aside the document or gift, in whole or in part, so that an earlier trust or will, or intestacy, controls.
• Recovery of property through a petition under Probate Code §850. Under Probate Code §859, a person who in bad faith wrongfully took property, or took it by undue influence in bad faith, can be liable for twice the value of the property recovered, and the court may also award attorney’s fees and costs.
• Trustee remedies, such as an accounting, surcharge, or removal of a trustee who took part in the misconduct. See our page on beneficiary rights and our article on hidden assets and trustee delay.

Costs at a High Level

In most California litigation, each side pays its own attorney’s fees unless a statute or contract says otherwise. In undue influence cases, fee shifting can come from Probate Code §21380 (a beneficiary who fails to rebut the presumption) and §859, and from elder abuse statutes in some cases. Other costs include filing fees, depositions, records subpoenas, mediators, and medical or forensic accounting consultants. A trustee’s use of trust funds for the defense can itself be disputed.

How Lamash Legacy Law Helps

Lamash Legacy Law represents beneficiaries, heirs, and trustees in trust and will contests throughout California from our Malibu office. We review the documents and deadlines, evaluate probable cause under any no-contest clause, and represent clients in mediation and probate court. Learn more about our California probate practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I contest a trust just because the gift seems unfair?

Not on unfairness alone. Under Welfare and Institutions Code §15610.70, an inequitable result, without more, does not prove undue influence. A contest usually also needs evidence of vulnerability, the influencer’s position of trust, and the tactics used.

How long do I have to contest a trust in California?

If the trustee served the notice required by Probate Code §16061.7, §16061.8 generally gives you 120 days from service, or 60 days after you receive the trust terms during that period, whichever is later.

Does a caregiver who receives a gift automatically lose it?

No. Probate Code §21380 presumes fraud or undue influence for certain gifts to care custodians of a dependent adult, but in most situations the caregiver can try to rebut the presumption with clear and convincing evidence, and exceptions apply.

Will I lose my inheritance if the trust has a no-contest clause?

Not necessarily. Under Probate Code §21311, a no-contest clause can be enforced against a direct contest, such as an undue influence claim, only if the contest was filed without probable cause.

Talk to Lamash Legacy Law

If you suspect undue influence, or a trustee’s notice has started the 120-day clock, contact Lamash Legacy Law. Our office is at 23465 Civic Center Way #116, Malibu, CA 90265. Call (424) 355-5565 or use our contact form.

Attorney advertising. This article provides general information about California law, not legal advice. Reading it or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and we cannot promise any particular outcome; results depend on the facts, the evidence, and the law of each matter.