Estates and trusts: undue influence.

Existing law establishes an express presumption of fraud or undue influence when a donative instrument makes a gift to the person who drafted or transcribed the instrument or to the care custodian of a transferor who is a dependent adult, as specified. Existing law exempts, among others, spouses and cohabitants of the transferor, from the presumption of fraud or undue influence. This bill would additionally subject to the above-described presumption a gift made to a care custodian who commenced a marriage, cohabitation, or domestic partnership with a transferor who is a dependent adult while providing services to that dependent adult, or within 90 days after those services were last provided to the dependent adult, if the donative transfer occurred, or the instrument was executed, less than 6 months after the marriage, cohabitation, or domestic partnership commenced. Existing law provides that if a decedent fails to provide by testamentary instrument for the decedent's surviving spouse who married the decedent after the execution of all the decedent's testamentary instruments, the omitted spouse is required to receive 12 of the decedent's community and quasi-community property and a share of the separate property, as specified. However, existing law prohibits a surviving spouse from receiving a share of the decedent's estate consistent with these provisions in certain circumstances, including, among others, when the spouse made a valid agreement waiving the right to share in the decedent's estate. This bill would further prohibit a surviving spouse from receiving a share of the decedent's estate as described above if the spouse was a care custodian of the decedent who was a dependent adult and the marriage commenced while the care custodian provided services to the decedent, or within 90 days after those services were last provided to the decedent, and the decedent died less than 6 months after the marriage commenced, unless the spouse can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the marriage was not the product of fraud or undue influence.