Ralph Ray Bailey, Personal Representative of the Estate of Roberta Bailey v. Sonya Smith Wright, Executrix, Estate of Vondie Lee Smith

The Testator asked her great-niece, a licensed Attorney, to make changes to her will that were to the Attorney’s financial benefit. The Attorney returned to the Testator a revised version of the will, which included the changes requested by the Testator and additional changes. Several months later, the Testator executed the revised will. The Testator’s Nephew, acting as a personal representative, claimed that the Testator lacked capacity and that the new will was a product of undue influence. While the trial court instructed the jury that it must decide which party bore the burden of proof regarding undue influence, the trial court gave the jury a verdict form that definitively indicated that Nephew retained the burden of proof. The jury found in the Attorney’s favor. On appeal, the Nephew presents challenges to several evidentiary rulings as well as a jury instruction concerning the Testator’s capacity, which we affirm. However, Nephew also asserts that the trial court incorrectly instructed the jury with respect to his undue influence claim. We conclude that the trial court’s inconsistent instructions regarding the Nephew’s undue influence claim warrant a retrial as to this claim.