ANSWER TO MEE 1
1. The issue is whether Joan's will is valid under the insane delusion rule.
A will is properly executed when a person has capacity, is above the age of 18, and has
testamentary intent. A formal will, such as the one here, is usually a signed writing that
is executed before two witnesses and/or a notary public. The testator must intend to
create a will at the time of the execution ("testamentary intent").
A will is not valid if a testator lacked the mental capacity at the time of the execution.
Typically, capacity is judged based on whether a testator can understand the nature of
their assets, who in their lives are potential heirs or devisees, and grasp that they are
writing an instrument to give their estate away in the event of their death. However, there
is a rule called the 'insane delusion rule' in which capacity can be challenged despite
meeting these general requirements. For example, a man who understands that he owns a
home and is married and making a will can be found to have an invalid will if he was
under the insane delusion that his wife was cheating on him with a dragon or other
hallucination or delusion, thereby invalidating a will that leaves the wife with nothing.
Here, there are several factors to examine regarding Joan's mental state. First, she
started taking a prescription drug that produced hallucinations as a side effect about three
years ago. She executed the will one year ago, so it is fair to presume that she was still
taking the prescription drug, and experiencing its side effects, at the time of the will's
execution. These hallucinations led to a delusion that the male line of her family was
"cursed" by Martians. Upon drafting the will, Joan told her lawyer "leaving the males in
my family anything valuable would be a complete waste on burglars and thieves." On its
face this raises questions about whether Joan is under an insane delusion and acted on
reliance of that delusion in her bequests. However, here, Joan's son and her three
grandsons actually do have, in reality, extensive criminal records for theft and burglary.
Therefore, while a little unkind, Joan's attitude about her male line being "cursed" and
refusing to leave them with a share is not apparent to have taken place due an insane
delusion, even if she believes a Martian curse is the cause of their burglary and theft
convictions.
Second, Joan has been telling her friends over lunch that she is a multimillionaire who
owns a luxurious home and a very expensive car. Because this is not the reality of her
life, as Joan has a modest Social Security income, this gives rise to a question about
whether Joan is under an insane delusion. A delusion of this sort could also go towards a
general lacking of mental capacity, as will be discussed below, because it goes to a core
element of capacity: the ability to understand the assets one
owns. With these facts, it
does not appear that Joan is suffering an insane delusion. Firstly, it is not uncommon for
people with significantly richer friends to pretend that they, too, are of that upper
economic class. Additionally, Joan took a cab to lunch each time, rather than driving her