Colin Smith was formerly a corporal in the British Army and saw active service in Afghanistan. One day on patrol he was shot in the leg by a sniper and was lying on the ground, bleeding heavily. His commanding officer, Major Joseph Grundy, at great risk to himself, ran over and carried Colin back to safety, saving his life. For this Major Grundy was mentioned in dispatches.

Colin was invalided out of the army as a result of his injury. Major Grundy kept in touch with him. One year later Colin won 3 million pounds on the lottery. He bought himself a splendid house for 1 million pounds and got married. Sometime after that Grundy retired from the army. He had an idea for a business but needed capital. He approached Colin, who greeted him, "Great to see you, sir". Grundy said, "You're not in the army now, Colin. Please call me Joe" Colin replied, "I could never do that, sir. You're still my commander."

Grundy explained his business scheme and asked if Colin could lend him 100,000 to set it up. Colin said he would notlendhim a penny; he wouldgivehim 200,000. Grundy said he did not want that much and advised Colin to get legal advice before making such a big gift. Colin said "I don't need legal advice. I have more than enough money for all my needs. I have an excellent financial adviser, but I'm not going to bother him about this". The gift was made without consulting the financial adviser.

Unfortunately, Colin's financial adviser was not very good and became bankrupt himself. In addition, Colin's wife, Meghan, was a very big spender with a fiery temper, spending far above

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his means. In the result Colin suffered great losses, was forced to sell his home and move into a small flat.

Shortly before this happened his wife told him that she had seen a Rolex watch she wanted, which cost 30,000. Colin said he could not afford it. Meghan flew into a rage, shouting and screaming at him that he had plenty of money, he did not love her, she had had enough and if he didn't give her the money for the watch, she would leave him. For the sake of peace and quiet Colin reluctantly agreed to give her the money and did so.

After the move into the flat, Colin tragically had a heart attack and died, leaving everything to an army charity.

Colin's executors now seek to set aside the gifts to Grundy and Meghan on the grounds of undue influence.

Advise the executors.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In advising the executors several legal principles need to be considered 1 Undue Influence This occu... View the full answer