This case involves a dispute over the validity of the will of Ms. Katherine Forester. The appellant, W.A. Trotman, petitioned to probate Ms. Forester’s will, and the appellee, Bron Forester, one of Ms. Forester’s sons, filed a caveat. Following a bench trial, the trial court entered a judgment setting aside Ms. Forester’s will on the ground that another one of her sons, Cliff Forester, who is a beneficiary under the will, had a confidential relationship with the testator and had exercised undue influence over her. Trotman appeals from the trial court’s judgment. Because there is some evidence supporting the trial court’s judgment, we affirm. ” ‘Undue influence which operates to invalidate a will is such influence as amounts either to deception or to force and coercion, destroying free agency.’ “ 1 Undue influence may be shown by a wide range of evidence, “as such influence can seldom be shown except by circumstantial evidence.”2 Moreover, evidence showing that a testator has a weakened mental state is relevant to the issue of undue influence, as the influence necessary to dominate a weak mind is less than that necessary to dominate a strong one. 3 Another factor that may support a finding of undue influence is evidence of a confidential relationship between the testatrix and the party alleged to have influenced the testatrix.4 A confidential relationship may be found to exist when the evidence shows that a party was capable of exerting power of leadership or a controlling influence over a submissive testator.5 Finally, whether a confidential relationships exists and whether someone has exerted undue influence over a testator are questions for the trier of fact here, the trial court,6 and if there is any evidence to support the trier of fact’s determination, it will be affirmed.7
In the present case, there is sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s ruling. To begin, there was ample evidence that Ms. Forester suffered from a diminished mental capacity beginning shortly after her husband’s death in January 1997 until the execution of the will in November 1998. A psychiatrist who examined Ms. Forester in February 1997, when she was seventy-nine-years old, testified that her short term memory was very poor, that she was suffering from dementia of the “Alzheimer’s type,” and that there was not much likelihood of improvement in her condition. Similarly, a psychologist who examined Ms. Forester in September 1997, determined that Ms. Forester suffered mild dementia, anxiety, and depression, and that he did not believe that her condition would improve over time.
