Two Wills and an Undue Influence Finding: Estate of Klages

If a family finds two wills, it might seem that the document with the later date automatically controls. But the later document must still be legally effective. A successful challenge can raise another question: what happens to the earlier will?

In re Estate of Klages, 209 N.W.2d 110 (Iowa 1973), involved that problem and a dispute over how much of the later will could remain in effect.

What happened?

John Klages made wills in 1967 and 1968. His daughter Dorothy challenged selected provisions of the later will, and a jury found those provisions invalid because of undue influence. She did not specifically challenge its clause revoking earlier wills.

Her brothers sought a declaration concerning the earlier will. The Iowa Supreme Court concluded that the disputed gifts and the later will’s revocation clause were interrelated. On the pleaded facts, the influence affecting the gifts also affected the clause that cleared the way for them.

The Court reversed the dismissal and remanded. It explained that, if the allegations were proved, the revocation clause would fall and the earlier will could be offered for probate. Dorothy could still contest that earlier will.

Why did the revocation clause matter?

A revocation clause commonly tells the reader that earlier wills are replaced. Iowa Code section 633.284 addresses revocation by a later will and other legally recognized acts. It also limits how a revoked or invalid will can be revived.

That means the status of an earlier document requires more than finding it in a drawer. The attorney needs to understand what happened to it legally, why a later document is challenged, and what the court actually decided.

Klages should not be turned into a rule that any problem with a newer will automatically restores an older one. The relationship between the affected provisions mattered to the Court’s analysis.

What should families take from the case?

Preserve the documents and explain their history to counsel. Dates, signatures, amendments, and the circumstances surrounding later changes may all matter. Choosing the version that produces the preferred inheritance is not a method for determining validity.

The procedural posture matters too. A decision allowing a claim to proceed is different from a final determination that every alleged fact is true. Here, the Supreme Court described what would follow if the allegations were proved.

The useful lesson is that an estate plan is read as a connected set of legal acts. A disputed gift, a clause revoking an earlier will, and an older document can affect one another in ways that are easy to miss when each page is considered alone.

Tyler ThompsonAuthor