An ageing population combined with decades of economic growth has correlated with a rise in inheritance disputes. While many of these disputes involve wills, non-probate instruments known as ‘will substitutes’ that operate during the donor's lifetime but also transfer specific assets upon death are playing a significant role. To date, the academic literature has not adequately addressed how undue influence claims against will substitutes have been, or should be, resolved. Our case survey reveals two distinct doctrinal approaches taken by the English courts to resolve these claims. The first approach treats will substitutes as estate-planning instruments on par with wills; the second focuses on the lifetime operations of will substitutes. We argue that the first ‘testamentary’ approach is preferred to the second ‘lifetime’ approach. The testamentary approach not only better promotes testamentary intent and respects relational norms, it also decreases the risk of discrimination and paternalism against elderly people.

中文翻译：

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不正当的影响力和意志替代品：破坏生死界限的交易

人口老龄化加上数十年的经济增长与遗产纠纷的增加有关。虽然其中许多争议都涉及遗嘱，但被称为“遗嘱替代品”的非遗嘱认证工具在捐赠人的一生中运作，但也会在死亡时转移特定资产，这发挥着重要作用。迄今为止，学术文献还没有充分说明针对遗嘱替代品的不当影响索赔已经或应该如何解决。我们的案例调查揭示了英国法院为解决这些主张而采取的两种不同的理论方法。第一种方法将遗嘱替代品视为与遗嘱同等的遗产规划工具；第二个重点是遗嘱替代品的终生运作。我们认为第一种“遗嘱”方法优于第二种“终身”方法。