Sachin Solanki v. Urmilla Solanki

── Sachin Solanki v. Urmilla Solanki ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas Date: April 29, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 266 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION I No. CV-25-207 Opinion Delivered April 29, 2026 SACHIN SOLANKI APPEAL FROM THE CLAY COUNTY APPELLANT CIRCUIT COURT, EASTERN DISTRICT [NO. 11PRR-22-55] V. HONORABLE CHARLES M. MOONEY, JR., JUDGE URMILA SOLANKI APPELLEE REVERSED AND REMANDED KENNETH S. HIXSON, Judge This case involves a battle of wills. The decedent is Prakash Solanki, who died in South Carolina at age 85 on November 27, 2022. 1 The appellant is Prakash’s son, Sachin Solanki, and the appellee is Prakash’s wife, Urmila Solanki.2 Prakash executed a will in 2007 (the 2007 will) that left almost his entire estate to Urmila, and he later executed a will in 2022 (the 2022 will) that revoked all prior wills and left Prakash’s motel and all his personal property to Sachin. The trial court entered an order denying Sachin’s petition to admit the 2022 will to probate and granting Urmila’s petition to admit the 2007 will to probate. In its order, the trial court found that Sachin failed in his burden of proving that the 2022 will 1 Prakash was a resident of Piggott, Arkansas, and was in South Carolina for only about a week before he died. 2 Prakash was divorced from Sachin’s mother, and Urmila is Prakash’s second wife. Prakash and Urmila were married for approximately twenty-five years. was properly executed in accordance with the law and found that the 2022 will was procured by undue influence and coercion. Sachin now appeals, raising two arguments for reversal. First, he argues that this case was decided on a directed-verdict motion and that the trial court used the wrong legal standard in reaching its decision. Next, he contends that, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Sachin, the trial court should have found that Sachin made a prima facie case for admitting the will to probate. We agree with Sachin’s arguments, and we reverse and remand for further proceedings. Prakash and his wife, Urmila, lived in Piggott, Arkansas, on the premises of a motel that Prakash owned and operated. In November 2022, Prakash was hospitalized in Piggot with end-stage liver disease and advanced cirrhosis and was told he had just months to live. Urmila agreed to allow Prakash’s children, who live in South Carolina, to take Prakash home with them and provide hospice care. Prakash was transported to the home of his daughter, Sita Sindhi, in Inman, South Carolina. Several days later, on November 25, 2022, Prakash executed a new will that had been prepared by Sita.3 Sita’s neighbors, Holly Adams and Donald Adams, signed the attestation clause. Prakash died two days later on November 27, 2022. 3 According to Sita, she prepared the will at Prakash’s request. 2  On December 12, 2022, Sachin filed a petition for probate of his father’s will in Clay County, Arkansas, where the motel was situated. 4 The petition listed Prakash’s surviving spouse and heirs as Urmila, Sachin, and Sita. The petition alleged that the 2022 will was executed in all respects according to the law when the testator was competent to do so and acting without undue influence. The 2022 will, which was signed by Prakash and attached to the petition, provided that all previous wills were revoked. It further provided that Prakash devised and bequeathed to Sachin the motel located in Piggott and all of Prakash’s personal property. The 2022 will did not address or purport to dispose of