However, today the process can include having the testator explain on video tape what the asset is, how it is to be transferred and to whom, and the overall implications of that transfer to the overall estate. It is easier to see the deceased, to see whether he or she seems to understand all the implications and to see whether or not he/she is the type of person who is weak willed enough to be susceptible to undue influence. In addition, protecting your client by having them explain it in their own handwriting and, on a couple of different occasions, on video tape alters the essential landscape of the court room proceedings by making the deceased a witness.

In addition, it is often useful to send a client to a psychiatrist to verify their mental health and acuity on an ongoing basis. This is evidence that those contesting the testamentary instrument will not easily be able to counter, because they will not have their own psychiatrist who has had access to the testator. This is another excellent card to have in your arsenal as an attorney in order to protect your client’s interests which again alters the landscape of the proceeding if the will is contested.