If you are involved in a will contest in Palm Beach or Ft. Lauderdale, you may want to read this very recent probate case from Kansas. It involves some of the issues which Palm Beach probate litigators face here when there is a challenge to the Florida will. If you are defending a will contest, or are suing for tortuous interference with your inheritance or undue influence, this recent case will give you an idea of what the court was considering.
Here’s the link if you want to read the appeals court legal opinion for free. http://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=70877
On October 2, 2009, William E. Cunningham, Jr. died.
- 4 months later, a July 10, 1995 will signed by Bill was sent to the Probate Court
- Bill evidently also signed an inter-vivos trust agreement on the same day
- March 15, 2010: this 1995 Will is admitted to probate
- Bank of America is appointed Personal Representative of the Estate
- “Letters Testamentary” are issued to the Personal Representative so that it has legal authority to administer the estate (In Palm Beach, we call those “Letters of Administration”.)
Notice is Given in the Probate Proceeding — Probate Litigators Get Ready
- Notice of the granting of letters testamentary was published on March 30, 2010.
Family Wants to Contest Will: They Begin a Will Challenge
Nieces & Nephews Claim That Estate Beneficiaries Committed Undue Influence
- September 20, 2010, heirs at law, nieces and nephew , (“the heirs”), filed a petition contesting the 1995 Will
Q: how can the heirs attack the will ?
A: the heirs at law claim undue influence
But wait …….. there’s another will ! (In Palm Beach probate circles, what we refer to as “prior wills”.)
- November 17, 2010: the Personal Representative of the Estate presents a prior will
- A 1984 will is produced
- the Salvation Army is a beneficiary (the Salvation Army was not a beneficiary under the 1995 Will).
Heirs Don’t Inherit Under — even if they win the will lawsuit !
- The Estate’s Personal Representative believes the 1995 Will was valid
- BUT, if it’s not, the prior will — the 1984 will — can be “revived”
- And if the prior will is valid, the heirs at law still don’t inherit
Even if the 1995 Will Is Invalid, the Heirs Still Don’t Inherit
Charity Permitted to Intervene
- February 23, 2011: probate court grants the Salvation Army leave to intervene as an additional plaintiff challenging the 1995 Will.
- April 24, 2012: heirs voluntarily dismissed their claims
- Now, only the Salvation Army is challenging the 1995 Will.
More probate motions, pre-trial conferences and probate hearings: the short of it: the probate court did not permit the Salvation Army to attack the will. The appeals court affirmed the probate court. For specifics, you can read the legal opinion.