This can decide who gets the house, the land, or the bank account after someone dies. A lot of families assume a will must stand just because it was signed, notarized, or written late in life after an illness or hurricane evacuation. That is bad advice. A will can be thrown out if someone manipulated the person making it and essentially steered the inheritance for their own benefit.

Technically, undue influence on a will means pressure so strong that it overcomes the will-maker's free choice and replaces it with someone else's wishes. It is more than persuasion, caregiving, nagging, or being present during paperwork. The question is whether the person signing the will acted independently or was controlled through dependency, isolation, fear, secrecy, or a confidential relationship. Courts often look at suspicious facts, such as a sudden rewrite, a favored beneficiary arranging the lawyer, or a frail person cutting out close family without a clear reason.

For a will contest, this issue can completely change the outcome of probate. If undue influence is proven, part or all of the will may be invalid, and property may pass under an earlier will or under intestate succession.

In Mississippi, timing matters. Under Mississippi Code § 91-7-23 (2024), an interested person generally has two years after probate to contest a will. Miss that window, and even a strong undue-influence claim may be lost.