Undue influence upon testamentary disposition as a ground of invalidity in the Hungarian judicial practice

Abstract

According to one of the judgments recently published by the Curia, the supreme court of Hungary draws attention to a special ground of invalidity of the last will which is interesting in the academic point of view, however, frustrating in the light of the challenging burden of proof which lies with the party contesting the will and in the light of its evidential difficulties the courts should face, as well. This essay is intended to reveal the factual and legal elements of this rule, to point out the uncertainty and opacity surrounding the case law decisions, while its connections with other legal institutions (invalid devise made in favour of participating person, contradiction to good morals etc.) are also put into focus.