Do you know what is necessary to contest a will in Palm Beach Florida?  Is it enough to know that a will is a fraud?You also have to be an interested party, but what does that mean? In order to find out you may want to hear what the Appellate Court of Illinois had to say about what constitutes aninterested party.

It should come as no surprise that same sex couples face adversity when    it comes to probate matters. Family members and courts alike ignore often long term partnerships and civil unions after a loved one in a committed gay relationship passes. A recent case being heard by the Supreme Court of the United States of America may bring all of this to an end; it could also cement it for another generation.

If you have been following the news lately you know  about  an inheritance controversy brewing over Bobbi Kristina Brown’s inheritance from her mother Whitney Houston. Have you heard about the guardianship filing on behalf of Bobby Brown? What did he file for guardianshipof? The answer may surprise you.

Did your mother make various promises to you about what she would do   with her property? After the funeral were you shocked to learn that despite a guarantee that she would give you the house it was left to your brother? You may want to read what the Delaware Chancery Court had to say about the matter when a battle of the brothers arose.

Whether you noticed because you love to go to the Hard Rock down in   Broward or because you have an affinity for Native American art – you may have noticed that the South Florida landscape has several reservations. Did you know that reservations are technically a foreign country? How does that alter the probate? You may want to see what a Federal Court had to say about the issue in a recent case out of Montana.

Have you heard the story of the Portsmouth Virginia Cop who took advantage   of his position in the community to secure a$2 million inheritance from a wealthy, demented lonely old woman?  A will contest has surfaced and now opposing arguments are scheduled to take place today, Monday April 27, 2015.

Has a relative recently passed and left a negligent or “shady” personal    representative? Do you want to replace the personal representative? You may want to hear what a Tennessee Court of Appeals had to say about petitioning a court to remove a personal representative of an estate.

Does one of your parents have a younger significant other   (the so-called May to December relationship)? Do you want to undue large transfers of assets given to that person while your parent was rather elderly? You may want to see what a Delaware court had to say about this very issue.

Are you accusing an attorney-in-fact (different from an attorney at law) of  civil conspiracy under Fla. Stat. §709.08? Did you know you might be entitled to attorney’s fees? The allowance may be broader than you think. Take a look at what the First District Court of Appeal had to say about the issue in a case decided just last week. 

Before your contract trial in Palm Beach, did the business lawyer on the other side try to delay trial by filing a bunch of unnecessary motions?    Or, did your partnership lawyer inOrlando purposefully ignore discovery requests from the other side? These attorneys may have been acting in bad faith. If the court finds that the losing side or the losing side’s attorney knew or should have known about the unnecessary claims, the court may order the losing side and his attorney to pay for your attorney’s fees. Read this recent case from Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal that gives a detailed explanation of what can happen when an attorney acts in bad faith.