Hannibal v. Navarro

In 2003, Arlene Matthews-Walton prepared a will. Arlene had five children. Under the will, Arlene’s home would be sold and equally distributed among her children, except for Marvalene Hannibal (defendant), who would receive only 4 percent of the sales proceeds. Arlene devised her other property—a vacant lot—solely to her daughter Portia Navarro (plaintiff). Arlene further left Hannibal out of the distribution of Arlene’s personal property. In 2017, Arlene died, and Navarro petitioned the probate court to administer Arlene’s will. Hannibal and several other beneficiaries (together, the objectors) (defendants) objected to Navarro’s petition on the grounds that the will was the result of undue influence by Navarro. The parties stipulated that there was a presumption of undue influence and that the burden fell on Navarro to prove that the will was not the product of undue influence. The case proceeded to trial. The evidence showed that Arlene had a very close relationship with Navarro, who had cared for her mother both personally and financially over the years. Additionally, in 1989, Arlene had mortgaged her home at a high interest rate to loan money to Hannibal for Hannibal’s business. The business had failed, and Hannibal never repaid Arlene, who resented Hannibal for the financial burden. Following the trial, the court found that Navarro had met her burden of proof and admitted the will to probate. Two of the objectors appealed.