O'Brien v. Stoneman

In approaching the solution of the question involved in this case, we start with the fundamental principle that under ordinary circumstances, one bas the absolute right to dispose of his property as he pleases. It is not the business of the courts to interfere with the disposition an aged person makes of her property.

The questions are: Was she competent and did she exercise her own free will? The transaction here was between a stepmother and her stepson and the case turns on the sole question of whether or not there existed between them what is known in the law as confidential relations. Th,e…