After the death of an 89-year-old art teacher in 2009, questions began to arise about whether two individuals had exerted undue influence related to changes to her will that took place after she had been diagnosed with dementia. The two individuals were close to her near the end of her life and stood to gain substantially from the revisions to will. Beneficiaries named in the prior version of the will have now reached a settlement agreement with the individuals. The settlement largely restores the bequests in the earlier version.

Several colleges and individuals saw the amounts allocated to them in the earlier version of the will reduced or eliminated altogether in the revised version, signed in 2006. Prior to the settlement a trial had been scheduled to begin this week in probate court, according to the Wall Street Journal.

One of the individuals who stood to gain by the 2006 revisions was a neighbor and friend of the teacher who was also named executor of the estate. In the prior version of the will, he would have received $400,000. In the new version, that amount would have more than doubled to $900,000. The proposed settlement calls for $575,000 for this man.

The second person was a former student of the teacher when she taught elementary school. She has not been included at all in the earlier version of the will, but the 2006 will set aside $400,000 for her. She will receive $350,000 according to the settlement.

In 2006 the teacher was diagnosed with dementia, and friends had begun to express concerns about her mental capacity in the year prior. It was shortly after this diagnosis that the will was revised. The next month the teacher was moved from her home to an assisted living facility.

The attorney for three of the schools that had much of their bequests restored via the settlement, indicated that they were pleased with the settlement and could now focus on their charitable endeavors rather than on the lawsuits.

Source: Wall Street Journal Deal reached in spat over Conn. widow's fortune February 1, 2011