Anderson v. Hagedorn

15 P.3d 582, 171 Or. App. 425, 2000 Ore. App. LEXIS 2023
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedDecember 13, 2000
Docket98-CV0370; CA A106948
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 15 P.3d 582 (Anderson v. Hagedorn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. Hagedorn, 15 P.3d 582, 171 Or. App. 425, 2000 Ore. App. LEXIS 2023 (Or. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

WOLLHEIM, J.

Plaintiffs are siblings, nieces, and nephews of testator, Carl Hone. They are contesting two of the three wills that Hone executed during the last year of his life. ORS 113.075(l)(a). Plaintiffs contend that a caregiver, Ledadeane Hagedorn, exerted undue influence on Hone and caused him to disinherit plaintiffs in favor of Hagedorn and a charity, South Coast Hospice (Hospice). Defendants are Hagedorn, Hospice, and the personal representative named in the February 1998 will. The trial court determined that the final will, executed in February 1998, was valid and was not the product of undue influence. Plaintiffs appeal. On de novo review, ORS 19.425(3), we affirm.

The record before us is unusual because it contains tape recordings of the testator’s thoughts and intentions given at a legal proceeding nine months before he died and eight months before his final will was executed. We have reviewed the extensive record in its entirety and conclude that an exhaustive recitation of the facts here would be of little benefit to the bench or the bar. We therefore present only those facts necessary to properly understand and analyze the issue before us.

Hone was an 82-year-old lifelong bachelor when he suffered a disabling stroke in late October 1996. He was hospitalized for several days and then spent several months convalescing in a nursing home. During that time, Hone’s niece, Judith Doyle, began taking care of his personal finances. Hone’s family hired Hagedorn in January 1997 to care for Hone at his residence upon his return. In early February, three days after Hone returned home, he was readmitted to the hospital suffering from internal bleeding. Hone’s attending physician described his condition as grim. While in the hospital, Hone executed a will and trust (February 1997 will) with Doyle as trustee. Hone’s estate consisted of over 500 acres of property that included a residence, outbuildings, farmland, and land suitable for logging. Hone recovered and returned to his residence by the end of February.

Almost immediately upon Hone’s return, his relations with plaintiffs began to deteriorate. Hone complained of [428]*428his inability to get access to his bank accounts or take care of his finances and expressed his displeasure with Doyle’s handling of his finances. Plaintiffs complained of “restricted access” to Hone. They noted that they were told that they had to call before visiting Hone, were asked to limit their visits so that Hone could recuperate, and were prevented from visiting Hone because the front gate was locked. They attributed those changes from previous practices to Hagedorn. In late March 1997, the family had a meeting where, among other things, Hone and plaintiffs disagreed about Hagedorn’s position as caregiver and about Hone’s finances. As a result of that meeting, Doyle and another niece resigned their positions as trustee and successor trustee of Hone’s estate.

Following the March meeting, Hone became increasingly distressed by his siblings’ assertions that he belonged in a nursing home and by his inability to regain control of his assets. In early May 1997, Hone met with an attorney, Ms. Melvin-Davidson, to change his estate plan. After several meetings with Melvin-Davidson, and at her recommendation, Hone met with a second attorney, Mr. Gould, for that same purpose.

In early June 1997, Hone’s siblings initiated a protective proceeding in circuit court seeking to appoint a guardian and conservator for Hone. The siblings were appointed temporary guardians and conservators. The protective proceeding consisted of two hearings, approximately one-month apart, with a visitor’s report prepared in the interim. That report was not favorable to the siblings. The court concluded that Hone did not need a guardian. It did, however, conclude that Hone was in need of assistance with his financial affairs and held a conservatorship hearing in late July 1997. Despite the siblings’ efforts to have themselves or a party of their choosing appointed as conservator, the court appointed Mr. Fandel, an accountant considered by Hone to be a neutral third party. Also during June, while the protective proceeding was pending, the temporary guardians attempted to have Hagedorn forcibly evicted, sought to have criminal proceedings initiated against Hagedorn, and made arrangements to place Hone in a nursing home.

[429]*429In August 1997, Hone executed a will (August 1997 will) that revoked the February 1997 will and trust. The August 1997 will gave nominal sums to Hone’s siblings, nieces, and nephews and the residue to South Coast Hospice. That will was executed in Fandel’s office. In February 1998, Hone and Melvin-Davidson met with a third attorney, Mr. Burch, and eventually Hone executed a new will (February 1998 will) that gave Hagedorn a life estate in the residence, outbuildings and farmlands, and established a trust in the remaining lands for the benefit of Hagedorn with Hospice as trustee. The February 1998 will also provided that, upon Hagedorn’s death, the entire estate was to pass to Hospice.

Hone died in March 1998, and plaintiffs challenged the February 1998 and August 1997 wills. After a four-day trial to the court, the court entered a judgment in favor of defendants and declared that the February 1998 will was valid and entitled to probate. Plaintiffs appeal and make three assignments of error. Because plaintiffs’ second and third assignments of error do not merit discussion, we address only the first, the undue influence claim.

1. We follow the framework established by In re Reddaway’s Estate, 214 Or 410, 329 P2d 886 (1958), to analyze plaintiffs’ undue influence claim. That framework requires us first to determine whether a “confidential relationship” existed between the testator and the challenged beneficiary and, if one did exist, to evaluate whether “suspicious circumstances” were present as defined by seven enumerated factors. The presence of a confidential relationship under suspicious circumstances raises an inference of undue influence, and the beneficiary must then produce evidence to overcome that inference. See Ramsey v. Taylor, 166 Or App 241, 262, 999 P2d 1178, rev den 331 Or 244 (2000) (describing process). Because it resolves the issue before us, we analyze only the February 1998 will.

We agree with the trial court’s conclusion that a confidential relationship existed between Hone and Hagedorn. That conclusion warrants no further discussion, so we proceed to the remainder of the Reddaway analysis.

The first Reddaway factor is whether the beneficiary participated in the preparation of the challenged will. [430]*430Reddaway, 214 Or at 421-22. The record contains evidence, and testimony that Hagedorn was incidentally involved with the preparation of the February 1998 will. Hagedorn hand wrote letters, which were then signed by Hone, that listed how Hone wished to devise his estate. Hagedorn also transported Hone to meetings with attorneys preparing the will and, on at least some occasions, was present during those meetings. That involvement constitutes a suspicious circumstance sufficient to raise an inference of undue influence. However, that inference is overcome by extensive evidence in the record.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Harris v. Jourdan
180 P.3d 119 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
15 P.3d 582, 171 Or. App. 425, 2000 Ore. App. LEXIS 2023, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-hagedorn-orctapp-2000.