If you are a Florida probate lawyer or an estate beneficiary or executor of a will, you will want to know about the change to Florida’s law on undue influence.
Change to Florida Probate Code on Undue Influence
- Florida Probate Code section 733.107 (2) is changed
- It now includes language which clarifies a procedural or evidentiary hurdle in undue influence cases
- The Probate Code in Florida is changed so that the presumption of undue influence, or the belief that undue influence exists, is not limited to a Florida will contest
- New language was added Chapter 733 of the Probate Code ” In any transaction or event to which the presumption of undue influence applies….”
- The statute recognizes that undue influence is often used by probate litigators, family members and heirs who have been cut out of an inheritance to challenge such things as: a gift of cash, the change of an IRA or retirement account, a sale of a family business interest, putting someone’s name on a Florida bank account, creating a joint account with a right of survivorship
- This new probate law is retroactive
Possible Examples of Undue Influence in Florida Probate Lawsuits
- Did someone force mom to put their name on a $1 Million bank account in Boca Raton ?
- Were there unusual large cash withdrawals of thousands of dollars from an ATM in Jupiter, Florida?
- Did someone find a Florida estate attorney to write a power of attorney for your aunt, and then someone used the power of attorney to make a gift to themselves of Boynton Beach real estate?
- Was a beneficiary changed on life insurance ?
- Did someone drive dad to his broker and create joint account for a mutual fund or group of stocks at a Palm Beach financial advisor’s office?
- If these things happened and your family member was forced or pressured to these these things, undue influence may exist
- To be able to unwind or void these transactions, consider whether the elements of undue influence exist to create a legal presumption of undue influence which shifts the burden of proof