Ralph and Wanda Steele were married for 75 years. They had no children but had many nieces and nephews, including Darrell Steele and Kathy Pace. Wanda died in March 2012. In November 2012, Ralph was injured in a fall. Doctors determined that Ralph needed surgery, which was performed in December 2012. Ralph entered rehabilitation at HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital where he developed pneumonia. He was admitted to St. Bernard’s Medical Center and stayed there until January 2013 when he was returned to HealthSouth.

Medical records indicated that Ralph had “mild difficulty with appropriate decision-making” and “mild difficulty” with his memory. Ralph signed a will during his second stay at HealthSouth in January 2013. The will was prepared by an attorney contacted and paid by Darrell and his wife, Cora. Although the attorney met briefly with Ralph, the will was drafted based upon notes prepared by Cora stating that Ralph wished to leave all of his property to Darrell and Cora. The attorney was not present when Ralph signed the completed will in the presence of witnesses. Darrell and Cora were named as the primary beneficiaries of the will.

Ralph was subsequently admitted to the Lawrence County Nursing Center. The admissions document noted that Ralph had “waxing and waning capacity and is able to make decisions some of the time.” The admissions document stated that Ralph did not suffer from dementia.

However, the resident-responsibilities form dated February 2013 stated that Ralph was “unable to sign/comprehend the form due to dementia.” Ralph died in July 2013 at the age of 94.

In August 2013, Kathy asserted Ralph had died intestate and nominated herself as administrator of his estate. Cora and Darrell sought to admit Ralph’s will to probate and requested to be appointed executors of Ralph’s estate pursuant to the will. Kathy asked that Cora and Darrell’s petition be denied because she alleged that Ralph’s will had been procured by fraud and undue influence. The trial court issued an order admitting Ralph’s will to probate, and Kathy appealed to the Arkansas Court of Appeals. Did Cora and Darrell exert undue influence over Ralph such as to invalidate his will? Why or why not?