Medical Records As Evidence in a Will Contest–What Actually Matters to Judges?

In will contests, medical records are often treated as the ace in the hole. Lawyers and clients alike dig through pages of diagnoses, medications, and progress notes expecting them to tell the whole story. While medical records can tell part of the story of a testator’s mindset when making the will, they do not tell the whole story, and they can be challenging to use to contest the will. Learn how medical records are used as evidence in a will contest, as well as the challenges that they pose.

What Does it Mean to Contest a Will?  

A will contest is a legal challenge to the validity of a will after a person’s death. One cannot legally contest the will simply because of a disagreement with the content of the will. Rather, the person contesting the will must show that the will is improper in some way, either due to the structure of the will itself or because of the context around the formation of the will. 

For instance, someone can argue that a person lacked the mental capacity to understand their property or the consequences of their decisions. Alternatively, he might claim that the person was coerced or forced into crafting the will in a way that they would not have chosen on their own. There might also be allegations that the will is fraudulent or that the signature was a forgery. Each state has specific legal formalities required by state law that, if not followed, can render the will invalid. 

About Testamentary Capacity 

One way to contest the validity of the will is to cast doubt on the testator’s testamentary capacity.  According to Florida law, “any person who is of sound mind and who is either 18 or more years of age or an emancipated minor may make a will.” A sound mind is sometimes referred to as “testamentary capacity.”

Testamentary capacity refers to a person’s legal and mental ability to make a valid will. The person must understand the nature and consequences of their decisions. Without testamentary capacity, a will can be challenged and potentially declared invalid.

What does it mean to be of sound mind? The bar is often lower than what clients might think. People can make decisions others do not agree with, even unusual decisions, and still be of sound mind. Simply because a person who was always regarded as a “family man” leaves nothing to his family, that in itself does not demonstrate that he was not of sound mind.

The law treats people as though they are of sound mind unless proven otherwise. This means that the burden of showing that the individual was not of sound mind falls on the person contesting the will. However, this can be quite difficult. One of the primary challenges in will contests is that the individual whose mental capacity is in question, the decedent, is no longer alive to provide testimony. Determining whether a person had the testamentary capacity to create or amend a will requires insight into their mental state at the time the will was executed. Because the most direct witness is unavailable, courts must rely on other evidence to assess the decedent’s mental and cognitive condition. The court could hear testimony from people who observed the decedent, review emails, texts, or videos. One other form of evidence of testamentary capacity is medical records. 

Why Medical Records Matter In Will Contests

Medical records can become an essential source of information. Here is what a court can glean about a testator from medical records: 

• Comprehensive Health History: Medical records offer detailed documentation of a decedent’s overall physical and mental health. They include diagnoses, medications, treatments, and hospitalizations, providing a timeline of the individual’s medical condition that can be crucial in evaluating their capacity to make informed decisions.

• Physician and Mental Health Notes: Records often contain notes from treating physicians, psychiatrists, or other mental health professionals. These notes can provide insight into the decedent’s cognitive and emotional state, including observations about memory, reasoning, judgment, and the ability to understand complex matters.

• Identification of Cognitive Impairments: Medical documentation can reveal serious conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, or other mental health or neurological disorders. 

• Patterns of Behavior Over Time: Consistent, ongoing medical records allow tracking of behavioral and cognitive changes. They can show patterns such as confusion, forgetfulness, mood swings, or lucid episodes.

Medical Conditions Are Not Necessarily Dispositive

Clients might think that a diagnosis such as Alzheimer’s disease or a note in a hospital chart saying someone is confused automatically makes a will invalid. It does not. Medical records are written primarily to guide treatment, not to address legal questions. Doctors and nurses are usually focused on providing care and managing symptoms, not assessing whether someone has the legal ability to make decisions. Notes in these records may reflect only temporary conditions, such as pain, infection, or side effects from medication, rather than a person’s overall mental state. As a result, a single observation of confusion or memory problems does not necessarily indicate that a person lacks capacity. Even in the case of Alzheimer’s or dementia, it does not necessarily mean that the person lacks the ability to make a will. So long as it is shown that the diagnosis did not affect the person’s ability to understand and make decisions about their will, this alone will not invalidate the will. 

Contact An Experienced Estate Litigation Attorney 

Will contests can be emotionally charged and legally nuanced. Medical records can play a decisive role in will contests. However, experienced legal counsel is best at finding relevant medical records and using them most effectively to contest the will. If you have concerns about the validity of the will, contact an experienced trust and estate litigation attorney.