What If a Florida Will Is Not Properly Signed by the Testator?

Did your dad forget to sign his Florida will before he passed away? What can you do if the signature on a will looks fake? Is signing only your first name to a Florida will sufficient? How can you contest a will in Florida? When should you contact a West Palm Beach probate lawyer to determine whether you have a strong will contest case? How can an inheritance lawyer help you to prove that a will is invalid?

Who Can Write a Valid Will in Florida?

Florida Statute 732.501 states that any person who is of a sound mind and who is 18 years or older may execute a will. The person who is executing the will must have testamentary capacity. If they do not have testamentary capacity, or if the testator is proven to have been incompetent at the time he or she executed a will, the Florida will could be contested and deemed invalid by a probate court. There are four main components to show testamentary capacity (sometimes called “sufficient mental capacity”) in Florida:

1. understanding that he or she is creating a distribution of his or her property after death,
2. knowing the nature and extent of his or her property,
3. knowing the named heirs and members of his or her family
4. understanding in a reasonable manner the general nature and effect of the act of signing the will.

What Statutory Requirements Must Be Met to Execute a Valid Will in Florida?

As stated above, in order for a person to execute a valid will in Florida, they must have testamentary capacity. In addition to that, all Florida wills must be executed in strict compliance with certain statutory requirements.

Florida Statute 732.502 describes what formalities must be met for a will to be valid in Florida. A valid Florida will must 1) be in writing 2) be signed by the testator or another person at the direction and in the presence of the testator 3) be signed at the end 4) be signed in the presence of at least two attesting witnesses, and the witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and each other.

If a will was filed in your probate case that does not meet these statutory requirements, you may have strong grounds to contest the will. Consider reading  Florida Statute 732.502 in its entirety, and interviewing a probate firm, like Pankauski Hauser, that specializes in litigation.

How Can I Contest a Florida Will?

To contest a will in Florida, you first want to make sure that you have a strong legal team representing you. The Palm Beach or Miami probate attorney that you choose should have years of experience. In addition, make sure to choose an attorney with plenty of TRIAL experience. Many Florida probate lawyers do not litigate or go to trials. Instead, they focus primarily on writing wills and trusts or administering them. At Pankauski Hauser, we do not write Florida wills or trusts. We are litigators.

At Pankauski Hauser, we are frequently hired to contest wills. You may be able to contest a will if the testator, or the person who wrote the will, wrote it when they had Alzheimer’s or dementia. You can also contest a Florida will that was created under duress, or solely because someone unduly influenced the testator. Unfortunately, we see many financial exploitation of the elderly cases where the victim is coerced into creating an estate plan, or changing beneficiaries of his or her will, trust, or bank account. Another reason a Florida will may be contested is if it is not properly executed according to Florida Statute 732.502.

Bitetzakis v. Bitetzakis

A February 1, 2019 Second DCA opinion, Bitetzakis v. Bitetzakis, is a great example of a case in Florida where a will is contested because the requirements in Florida Statute 732.502 were not strictly complied with. Here, the testator’s daughter appeals a probate court order admitting her father’s purported Florida will. The daughter argues that her father “ did not sign the purported will within the meaning of the statute.”

Section 732.502(1) ( a) says that in order for a will to be properly executed, the testator “ must sign the will at the end” or “ must be subscribed at the end of the will by some other person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s direction.”  Here, the testator did not sign the will at the end of it. Furthermore, evidence shows that the testator “ recorded something less than his full customary signature and therefore did not sign the will within the meaning of 732.502. Specifically, the testator had only signed a portion of his name. The appellate court reversed and remanded.

It is important to note that Florida courts do not reward people who sit on their rights. Therefore, if you wish to contest a Palm Beach or Orlando will, you need to interview Florida law firms and get in the game as quickly as possible! To interview a probate litigation law firm in Florida,  free of charge, call (561)514-0900 ext.101.