SUSAN DAVID, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. WENDY ALTER HERMANN, Individually and as Trustee, etc., Defendant and Appellant. , 129 Cal. App. 4th 672

Summary

The trial court found that the trust's dispository provisions were caused by misrepresentations of the younger daughter that were intended to alienate the mother from the oldest daughter. The court held that the trial court had exclusive jurisdiction over the proceedings under Cal. Prob. Code § 17000 because it was the court having jurisdiction over the trust due to the trustee residing in its county. The court found that the younger daughter's arguments relying exclusively on one factor of procurement necessarily failed to show a lack of substantial evidence supporting the finding of undue influence. There was compelling circumstantial evidence that the younger daughter made continuing misrepresentations about the older daughter to the mother for the purpose of alienating the older daughter from the mother and effecting the disinheritance of the older daughter and her family. Thus, the court upheld the findings of undue influence and fraud. The court found no basis in substantive law ...