Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1996
Abstract
The recent revision of the Uniform Probate Code (1990) accepted the "dispensing power" with respect to will execution, revocation, revival, and alteration. Under section 2-503, a will that has not been executed in conformity with the formalities of will execution should nevertheless be admitted to probate if the probate court finds "by clear and convincing evidence" that the decedent intended the document to stand as a will This Article reviews the literature supporting the change in wills acts and examines cases that have considered applying remedies for defectively executed wills. It is argued by the proponents of the dispensing power that the doctrines of undue influence and fraud will afford the protection that will execution formalities are supposed to serve. By surveying modem cases of undue influence as well as late seventeenth century will contests in England, this Article questions whether" undue influence" can support a greater burden.
Recommended Citation
Tulane Law Review , Vol. 70, Issue 6 Part A , pp. 1893-1920