By Richard R. Hammar, J.D., LL.M., CPA
© Copyright 1987, 1998 by Church Law & Tax Report. All rights reserved. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Church Law & Tax Report, PO Box 1098, Matthews, NC 28106. Reference Code: m80 c0587
An Arkansas appeals court invalidated a will
that left all of a decedent's assets to a cult leader. The
leader had convinced the decedent that he had supernatural powers,
that he could transmigrate, did not have to eat or perform other
bodily functions, and had the power to heal. He refrained from
displaying his powers openly, however, because it would cause
people to "focus on his miracles rather than upon his teachings."
The leader also warned the decedent that "bad things" would happen
to her if she did not give more and more of her money to him. She
began giving up to 75% of her earnings as a nurse to the leader,
executed a will leaving her entire estate to him, and assigned
several life insurance policies to him. After her untimely death
in an accident, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of her minor child
seeking to invalidate the will and life insurance beneficiary
designations on the basis of undue influence. The lawsuit alleged
that the decedent had been so unduly influenced by the leader that
her actions were not the product of her own free will and therefore
should be invalidated. The court agreed that the decedent had been
unduly influenced by the cult leader, and accordingly invalidated
the transfer of assets to him. It noted that the leader was a very
skillful manipulator of emotionally immature and dependent persons,
and that he "virtually enslaved" the decedent through manipulation
of her mind and emotions. Carpenter v. Horace Mann Life
Insurance Co., 730 S.W.2d 502 (Ark. App. 1987).