Do I Have a Case? The Presumption of Undue Influence?
Do I Have a Case? (Part Four) As I have indicated in prior posts, there are certain categories of evidence that I look for in order to prove undue influence, which has been defined by Florida courts as...
View ArticleUndue Influence: Lawyers Who Name Themselves or Family Members as...
All too often I am asked to investigate and ultimately prosecute will contests which involve attorneys playing an active role, not only in the procurement of the will, but in having themselves or their...
View ArticleEstate of Carpenter
In Re: Estate of Carpenter – the presumption of undue influence in Florida and the Florida Probate Code. I have written at great length of the various factors I assess when determining whether to...
View ArticleTestamentary Capacity: Do We Need Legal Reform?
Previous blog posts have discussed the fundamentals of will contests in Florida. These actions occur when a will is offered for probate (See Post dated October 28, 2008 What is the Definition of...
View ArticleNo Contest Clauses
Alabama, Ohio, and 13 Other States Need to Follow Florida’s Lead Many decedents in a variety of jurisdictions place no contest provisions in their wills in order to prevent their family members from...
View ArticleHow Far May the Witness Wander?
Fifth District Court of Appeals Shed’s Light on the meaning of the requirement that witnesses must sign in the testator’s presence. A frequent issue in contests involving the validity of instruments,...
View ArticleLatent vs. Patent Ambiguities in Last Will and Testament Construction Cases
Lawyers and probate courts are frequently asked by relatives of a deceased to consider evidence well beyond the four corners of a last will in determining the “true” donative intent of the testator....
View ArticleHow to Overcome the “Negative Will”
Can disinherited heirs still take inheritance by intestacy?Sometimes a testator leaves a last will that expresses his or her intent to disinherit an heir. These wills are described under the common...
View ArticleWhat Constitutes a Contest In No Contest Provision?
A no-contest clause, also called an in terrorem clause, is a topic I have discussed previously in my blog. Readers may remember that an in terrorem clause is a written sentence in a testamentary...
View ArticleVirtual Adoption versus Will Contest
… and the winner is Will Contest. It is not uncommon for a couple to welcome a child into their home and treat it as a family member without ever legally adopting the child. When the situation is...
View ArticleProbate: Enforcement of Prenuptial Agreement
In the recently-decided Kellar v. Estate of John W. Kellar, 43 Fla.L.Weekly D2381a, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reminded us that a prenuptial agreement is a contract and is enforced in probate...
View ArticleFlorida Will Execution: Strict Compliance with Statute Required
Bitetzakis v. Bitetzakis, — So.3d —-, 2019 WL 405568, 44 Fla. L. Weekly D343. George Bitetzakis died in January 2017. His grandson was appointed personal representative and petitioned to admit...
View ArticleLawyer-Client Privilege Does Not Apply to Estate Planning Attorney’s Files in...
Vasallo v. Bean, 208 So.3d 188 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) Plaintiffs in probate and trust litigation cases are frequently forced to spend considerable time and money compelling the decedent’s estate planning...
View ArticleContesting a Will in Florida
Contesting a will in Florida can be done in two ways and for the following reasons: Petition to Revoke Probate. If a will has already been admitted to probate and no deadline prevents a contest, then...
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