If you are considering filing a will contest in West Palm Beach, time is of the essence. You may have as little as 90 days left to file the lawsuit because of the statute of limitations. There are certain ways to toll the statute but you have to make sure you are fitting within one of them or you will end up like the plaintiff in this Washington Supreme Court case. Make sure you do not waive your right to a claim by sitting on it for too long.
Statutes of Limitations
- The statute of limitations is what tells the Court and the public how long a plaintiff has to bring an action.
- Like the name suggests it is simply a statute, put into the Florida law books that outlines how long you have to file a will contest with the probate court.
- There are other statutes of limitations for example you may have as little as two years to file an action sounding in medical malpractice.
- So why is the statute of limitations for a will contest so short?
- That you will have to ask the Florida legislature but it appears they wanted probate courts in West Palm Beach to be able to move some what swiftly when administering estates.
- You may be able to toll the limitations period but this can be complicated.
- Make sure you talk to an experienced Palm Beach probate lawyer before you try to enter into a tolling agreement or else you will risk losing the right to bring the action forever!
- Check out this recent case out of the Washington Supreme Court to see how not to preserve the time limits.
Mikes v. Jepsen
- This case dealt with service upon a personal representative of an intent to file a will contest.
- A woman’s adult son filed a petition contesting the validity of her will and his attorney emailed the petition to the personal representative of the estate the same day it was filed.
- The problem is that the service should have been via personal service (i.e. a process server) and the personal representative never agreed to service via email.
- The trial court then dismissed the action for failure to serve within 90 days but the appeals court reversed stating that was only for grounds of personal jurisdiction which did not apply in the instatn case.
- Well the Supreme Court of Washington disagreed, and said no, he should have personally served and that email did not toll or effect his obligations.
- The case was lost because the man could not serve properly within the statute of limitations.
- See how the details are extremely important in a West Palm Beach will contest?
Want to learn more about this interesting case?
Check out the full decision of the Washington Supreme Court by clicking here.
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