In re the Estate of Moretti

This appeal involves application of the rule set forth in Cleary v. Cleary, 427 Mass. 286 (1998), and Rempelakis v. Russell, 65 Mass. App. Ct. 557 (2006), which shifts the burden to a fiduciary to prove the absence of undue influence in a challenge to a will naming the fiduciary as beneficiary. “[T]he fiduciary who benefits in a transaction with the person for whom he is a fiduciary bears the burden of establishing that the transaction did not violate his obligations.” Cleary v. Cleary, supra at 295. This special burden-shifting rule is an exception to the general rule that in a will contest…