N.C.P.I.—Civil 815.29

NOTE WELL: If one of the parties to the marriage has

died, submission of N.C.P.I.-Civil 815.30 may also be

necessary.3

The (state number) issue reads:

Was the consent of the [plaintiff] [deceased]4 to marry the

defendant procured by the undue influence of the defendant5 over the

[plaintiff] [deceased]?

On this issue the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. This means

that the plaintiff must prove, by the greater weight of the evidence,6 that

at the time of the [plaintiff's] [deceased's] marriage to the defendant,

the [plaintiff's] [deceased's] consent to marry the defendant was

procured by the undue influence of the defendant over the [plaintiff]

[deceased].

Undue influence occurs when a person's professed act is not his

own, but is in fact the act of the person exerting the influence. 7 Undue

influence exists where there has been such an influence over the mind

and will of another that his consent to marry is not freely given, but is in

reality the act of the person procuring the marriage.8

The undue influence must have existed and must have acted upon

the free will of the [plaintiff] [deceased] at the precise time of the

marriage ceremony.9

The existence of undue influence is for you to determine from all

the facts and circumstances in evidence. You may consider, together with

all the other facts and circumstances in evidence, the [plaintiff's]

[deceased's]:

[age]

[physical condition]

[mental condition]

[[dependence upon] [association with] [relationship with] the

defendant]

[state any other relevant factors supported by the evidence].10

(Undue influence does not necessarily involve moral turpitude or

even a bad or improper motive).11

(Mere persuasion, without more, is not undue influence. A person

may use fair argument and persuasion to induce another to consent to

marry.)12 (Influence gained by kindness and affection, without more, is

not undue, even if it induces a person to consent to marry.)13

Finally, as to this issue on which the plaintiff has the burden of

proof, if you find by the greater weight of the evidence that the consent

of the [plaintiff] [deceased] to marry the defendant was procured by the

undue influence of the defendant over the [plaintiff] [deceased] at the

time of the marriage ceremony, then it would be your duty to answer this

issue “Yes” in favor of the plaintiff.

If, on the other hand, you fail to so find, then it would be your duty

to answer this issue “No” in favor of the defendant.