Minnesota Probate Court denies probate of will.

Meagher & Geer represented the children of the decedent. The surviving spouse offered a will for probate under which he benefitted to the exclusion of the decedent’s children. The court concluded after a court trial that the decedent died intestate. The purported will was denied probate both because the decedent lacked testamentary intent and because it was procured through the undue influence of the surviving spouse. The trial court held so even though the attorney, who drafted the will and was present and witnessed at the time of the signing, testified that there was no influence and that decedent retained the requisite capacity.