John Poyser’s Capacity and Undue Influence

John E. S. Poyser has written a remarkable textbook, Capacity and Undue Influence, published this year by Thomas Reuters Canada Limited. The book is about gratuitous wealth transfers including by will, beneficiary designations, through jointures, inter vivos trusts and gifts directly to beneficiaries. Mr. Poyser does not deal with (or purport to deal with) capacity for other legal transactions, such as contracts, except peripherally to assist in explaining capacity to make testamentary and inter vivos gifts.

If, by focusing on gratuitous wealth transfers, the topic is narrower than the book’s title might imply, it is also much richer. In addition to discussing the criteria for capacity to make a will, Mr. Poyser also discusses the requirements of knowledge of approval of the contents of a will, including the doctrine of righteousness, in considerable depth. Estate litigators will be familiar with challenges to inter vivos gifts on the basis of undue influence, including claims founded on relationships of dependence or potential dominance, but how about challenges based on unconscionable bargains and unconscionable procurement? Although unconscionable bargains may be more closely associated with contracts, Mr. Poyser explains the principles and their applicability to gratuitous gifts. Unconscionable procurement? I had never heard of it before. Although perhaps the doctrine is a bit dusty, Mr. Poyser makes a good case that unconscionable procurement is applicable in modern times.

Estate disputes are chock-full of presumptions: of capacity, of knowledge and approval, of undue influence. What are they really, and what are their implications? Mr. Poyser offers common-sense explanations that they are usually evidentiary in nature, that they do not change the legal burden, and that they are indeed founded on common sense (I think the expression “common sense” appears more often in the book than any other). To paraphrase, the presumption that a person has capacity to make a will reflects that most people do in fact have that capacity. It is only if there is other evidence that comes to light of suspicious circumstances, such as that the will maker was diagnosed with dementia, that the court needs to look further.

Mr. Poyser articulates a coherent analysis of capacity to make gratuitous wealth transfers, whether by will, beneficiary designation, or inter vivos transfer. In its broadest the test is as set out in Ball v. Mannin, (1829) 4 E.R. 1241, that a person must be “ capable of understanding what he did by executing the deed in question when its general purport was fully explain to him.”

The courts have developed more detailed criteria for making a will, following the famous words of Chief Justice Cockburn, in Banks v. Goodfellow, (1870), L.R. 5 Q.B. 549 at 565:  

It is essential to the exercise of such a power that a testator shall understand the nature of the act and its effects; shall understand the extent of the property of which he is disposing; shall be able to comprehend and appreciate the claims to which he ought to give effect; and with a view to the latter object, that no disorder of the mind shall poison his affections, pervert his sense of right, or prevent the exercise of his natural faculties — that no insane delusion shall influence his will in disposing of his property and bring about a disposal of it which, if the mind had been sound, would not been made.

Mr. Poyser neatly dissects the criteria set out in the above-quoted passage. He also makes the case that the level of capacity to make a will or codicil may vary depending on the specific document. A very complex will may require a higher level of functioning than a simple one. Making a codicil that only changes the executors, or that makes a small gift relative to the will-maker’s wealth, might not require that the will maker fully meet the criteria in Banks v. Goodfellow.

In reading the cases, I have always found it difficult to find a clear articulation of the criteria for capacity to make inter vivos gifts. Some courts have said that the level of capacity is lower than the capacity to make a will, which I have never found very satisfactory.

Mr. Poyser’s makes an overwhelming case that the requisite capacity is not related to whether a gift is inter vivos or by will, but rather capacity is transaction specific. Someone who wishes to make a gift of all or most of his assets during his lifetime, effectively depriving the beneficiaries of his will of his estate, needs to meet the full Banks v. Goodfellow criteria. Indeed, the donor would also have to appreciate the effect of giving away his property on his own future financial security to have capacity to make the gift. On the other hand, someone making a trifling gift need only have a limited capacity to understand that she was giving something of small value to the beneficiary. Because of the small impact on the donor and her estate plan, she would not have to have the same level of comprehension as making a will disposing of everything. Intermediate gifts require intermediate levels of mental functioning.

In light of the recent change in legislation in British Columbia affecting challenges to wills in which undue influence is alleged, by creating a presumption of undue influence if it is shown that the person alleged to have exercised undue influence was in a position where the potential for dependence or domination of the will maker was present, I was particularly interested in Mr. Poyser’s discussion of the difference between undue influence in will challenges and undue influence in respect of inter vivos gifts.

Mr. Poyser considers inter vivos undue influence as a separate doctrine from testamentary undue influence. The presumption, which was recently changed in British Columbia, is but one of the differences between challenging a will and challenging an inter vivos gift on the basis of undue influence.

To successfully challenge a will, or gift in a will, on the basis of undue influence, the attacker must prove on a balance of probabilities that someone exercised undue influence over the will maker, the result of which was that the will maker made a will or gift in the will against his or her own true wishes. Undue influence in this context is a form of coercion. It may be proven by circumstantial evidence, but actual undue influence must be shown. If proven, the will or gift in the will is void. 

Mr. Poyser traces the development of inter vivos undue influence, which, in contrast, to undue influence in the wills context, flows out of equity. Where the person who has received a significant inter vivos gift was in a relationship with the donor where he or she was in a position to dominate the donor, then a presumption of undue influence arises. Furthermore, where such a relationship is present, the type of pressure required to set aside the gift on the basis of undue influence may be milder, particularly if the donor is vulnerable.  The underlying premise of inter vivos undue influence is to protect donors from victimization. If the person attacking the transfer succeeds on the basis of equitable undue influence, the transfer is voidable, rather than void, and the person benefiting may raise equitable defences to the claim such as those based on unreasonable delay in pursing a claim.

This may have implications for British Columbia’s new provision in section 52 of the Wills, Estates, and Succession Act, mentioned above, which imports the burden of proof in will challenges from inter vivos undue influence where there is a potential for dependence or domination. However, section 52 does not expressly import the full equitable doctrine. Apart from the burden on the person found to be in a special relationship to show that he or she did not exercise undue influence over the will maker, what relevance will the principles of inter vivos undue influence have in British Columbia to will challenges based on undue influence? Section 52 just came into effect this spring, but perhaps there will be cases considering section 52 to provide fodder for Mr. Poyser’s next edition.

Mr. Poyser thoroughly canvasses the Canadian cases on wealth transfers, including leading appellate and illustrative trial decisions. He also has included analysis of leading English cases, including fairly recent decisions, as well as some leading cases from other common law jurisdictions, particularly Australia and New Zealand. For estate litigation lawyers, the book provides an easy source for broadening research beyond their own jurisdictions.

For solicitors, I particularly recommend Chapters 12 and 13, “Controlling for Capacity During Planning,” and “Controlling for Other Types of Challenges.”  These chapters offer analysis of a solicitor’s role when capacity may be in doubt or there are concerns about possible undue influence or other challenges. Mr. Poyser offers some interesting ideas about what a solicitor ought to do when there may be doubts about capacity. Of course, conduct a thorough interview, without potential beneficiaries present, and make good notes. But Mr. Poyser’s suggestions go well beyond that. He has some suggested questions. Consider a separate retainer to assess capacity. He provides some sample letters to physicians, some of which are quite extensive, requesting opinions on capacity. 

Mr. Poyser has an insightful and provocative discussion about whether the solicitor should go ahead with a will for a client whose capacity is in a grey area, and what further steps the solicitor might take to identify any concerns about capacity.

Great legal textbooks both reflect the law and affect its development. Capacity and Undue Influence reflects the law well. In time it seems quite likely that it will, as my other favourite legal textbook, Waters’ Law of Trusts in Canada (now in its fourth edition) has done, affect the future development of the law as well.

John Poyser is both a partner in the Winnipeg law firm Tradition Law LLP and a principal of the Wealth and Estate Law Group in Calgary. He is also a co-author with Larry H. Frostiak and Grace Chow of Taxation of Trusts and Estates: APractitioner's Guide 2014, Carswell.