Dealing with an appeal of a Florida probate matter?  Talk to Allison R. Sabocik of the Pankauski Law Firm PLLC, who leads this probate litigation and estate administration law firm’s appellate practice in Palm Beach County, Florida.  Florida probate appellate attorney Allison R. Sabocik prevailed at the appellate court for Palm Beach County, Florida, obtaining success and a significant victory for her client.  Attorney Sabocik represents an estate and the personal representative of an estate being administered in probate court at the South County Courthouse, Delray Beach, Florida. 

Are you trying to set aside a Florida trust document or a Florida trust amendment, or even a Florida Trust Restatement–based upon undue influence, fraud or lack of mental capacity? In Florida, if you are contesting, or attacking, a trust document, consider three important points which may be vital to a successful lawsuit.  Florida law has unique caselaw and rules for not only procedure, but also substantive matters, which may affect your Florida trust litigation. 

Involved in Florida litigation involving wills, trusts and estates?  I’m sure that your attorney has advised you that should you lose, or not prevail, on one or more issues throughout the case, let alone your entire case or matter, you may be responsible for paying the other side’s attorney fees. 

Can someone in a Florida probate or trust case testify about the dead person’s state of mind?  ….. How about what the dead person thought or was intending to do?  Florida probate attorneys who handle disputes and lawsuits involving wills, trusts and estates know that what the decedent was thinking is often very, very important. 

Can someone you’ve never met before inherit?  Can a child you never planned for and who is born after you die become a trust beneficiary?  In Florida, probate litigators are used to dealing with second and third spouses, children from a prior relationship, sibling rivalry, and disgruntled heirs.  Now, Florida probate attorneys and estate administrators are dealing with the collision of the law and science.

Florida probate attorneys involved in litigation of wills, trusts and estates know the importance of the discovery process.  Trial lawyers, after all, must find out the facts and then have a judge apply the law to those facts.  Discovery is the fact-finding part of probate litigation.   What were the facts and circumstances surrounding the signing of a will?  Why was the trust amended to dis-inherit someone?  What was mom’s mental state when she made a gift of $1,000,000:  did she have mental capacity?  Was there undue influence when Dad left his estate under his will to a girlfriend he only knew for a year? 

Florida probate lawyers are often involved in family inheritance “fights” or disputes.   Florida probate litigators argue and advocate on behalf of people who may be related by blood or money.   There are often times disagreements and disputes and trials in Florida probate matters and Florida estates.   Who should win in a Florida estate dispute:  the dead person’s girlfriend or his minor child? 

Is a handwritten will which is valid in another state valid in Florida?   A recent case has asked the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on this.  Florida wills must be in writing and signed at the end of the will by the person making the will, in the presence of two witnesses who likewise sign the will.   The will must be typewritten, or, what others may now call, computer-generated. In other words, Florida courts do not recognize handwritten wills. 

In Florida, guardianship cases have exploded.  Increasingly, more and more probate attorneys and trust and estate attorneys are dealing with guardianship matters.  Will a court “take away” important civil and human rights of a person who is alleged to be incapacitated?  Will a court appoint someone to manage the property of the person?  Or is there a valid power of attorney, health care directive or surrogate, or revocable trust (living trust) to manage the person’s finances?

South Florida probate litigator John Pankauski will speak today in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and address Broward County probate attorneys who prepare wills and trusts and who administer estates.  Pankauski, and Boston attorney Joe Bierwirth of Hemenway & Barnes, will present the following Florida law topic:  Ethics & Estate Planners, 10 Things to Preserve & Protect Your Practice.   The topic will include Florida probate matters, ethical challenges involved in wills, trusts, estates and guardianships, and how Massachusetts law differs.