DEMENTIA DISCOVERY IN PROBATE LITGATION & WILL CONTESTS — challenging the will, and contesting the probate : 13 “must do’s” if you want to know …… Q: was mom or dad competent when they signed the will ?

Are you in the middle of a probate litigation case in Palm Beach, Boca Raton or Delray Beach ? Are you in the middle of a will contest ? Is dementia an issue? Did mom or dad have the right  mental capacity when they signed the deed or Florida will or Palm Beach trust ?   Maybe you are objecting to the Palm Beach will or have started a will contest.  Or, you are the Palm Beach executor of the estate — the personal representative of the Palm Beach Estate — who is charged with defending the last will against a will challenge.  If the mental state of a person who signed a Florida will is being questioned, you are probably in the middle of a “lack of capacity”    inheritance case or Palm Beach probate.   I know a bit about dementia.  My mom suffered from dementia when she moved to Palm Beach in 2011.    I saw how the dementia affected my mom, how it progressed and how the dementia got worse. If you are involved in a Palm Beach estate case where there is a question about the validity of the Florida will, then read on.

PALM BEACH WILL CONTESTS:  SETTING ASIDE THE WILL BY A WILL CHALLENGE

Most people who are involved in a Palm Beach Probate know that a Florida will may be contested, or attacked or set aside — and declared void —   if the Florida will was signed when  mom or dad did not know what they were doing.  That’s right:   if a will was signed by a person who was not competent, the   Florida will can be thrown out or turned over.

HOW DO I KNOW IF THE FLORIDA WILL IS NOT VALID  ?   STANDARDS FOR A PALM BEACH WILL CONTEST

One of the standards for a Florida will challenge — sometimes called a Palm Beach will contest — is whether or not mom or dad had the “testamentary capacity” to sign a Florida will.   The same holds true for Florida revocable trusts, trust amendments, or gifts or deeds of Florida real estate.

Q: How do you know if mom or dad knew what they were doing when they signed the Florida will ?

A: You may need to conduct some dementia discovery in the Palm Beach Probate.

WHAT IS DEMENTIA DISCOVERY in probate litigation ?

Dementia discovery is when someone who is involved in an inheritance lawsuit — a Palm Beach probate lawsuit — wants to determine whether mom or dad was “with it” when they signed the will.    Have you been dis-inherited?   Did a will, or a Florida codicil, leave you out or leave you less than a prior Florida will ?   These are questions which Florida beneficiaries, heirs at law, next of kin, and sons and daughters ask about their mom or dad — and the Florida probate. This is particularly true when mom or dad signed a will which radically changed their prior Florida estate plan.

What is the standard for signing a Florida will?

• When you sign a will in Florida, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist and you don’t have to pass a test.
• You have to understand generally what you are doing.
• Do you know who your family members are?
• Do you have an idea of your net worth and what your assets are ?
• Do you understand what the Florida will or revocable trust that you are signing is doing?

While mom’s or dad’s health yesterday, earlier in the morning, or tomorrow, does matter—-it is indeed relevant from a    probate trial evidence standpoint— the focus is on how mom or dad’s mental state was at the exact moment that he or she signed the Florida will.

Time for some Florida dementia discovery ?

Increasingly, we are all living longer lives. While our physical being, our bodies, may be strong and may endure,

• Our mind may break down.
• Our cognitive abilities may decrease.
• Are we capable of understanding things?
• Can we analyze things?
• Can we think on our own ?
• Do you need some help with our financial affairs ? How much?
• Are we asking questions?
• Can we make choices?

AGING FLORIDA CLIENTS & DEMENTIA

1. As we advance in our years, our cognitive ability may decrease, or decline.
2. And we can be stricken by dementia. If untreated, or not treated properly, dementia can get progressively worse – – – sometimes very quickly: as in a matter of months.
3. Some people are also stricken by Alzheimer’s.

When you are involved in a  Palm Beach  inheritance lawsuit,  a Florida will challenge, or probate litigation, you may wish to learn about mom or dad’s mental state at the time that he or she signed their Florida will.

1. Obtain medical records both before signing the Florida will and after
2. interview their doctors
3. subpoena their doctors’ records
4. understand what medications mom or dad were taking — and sometimes more importantly NOT taking — around the time they signed the will
5. understand the effect of those medications on mom or dad when they signed the Florida will
6. interview all healthcare providers, such as neurologists, internists, physician assistants, physical therapist, nurses, and nurses aids ——- do your estate litigators know what to look for ? And the right questions to ask ? (Luckily, there are many fine Palm Beach probate litigators from Palm Beach Gardens to Delray Beach to Boca Raton who know how to handle dementia discovery in Florida inheritance lawsuits. )
7. subpoena all medical and healthcare records
8. •8. interview people who interacted with your mom and dad around the time of signing of the will — golf partners, massage therapists, buddies
9. investigate whether your mom or dad sent any communications which would reveal their mental state: emails, faxes, letters, handwritten notes, cards for holidays and birthdays, gifts, checks
10. reconstruct the days before the Florida will was signed, and, specifically, that very day
11. research what mom or dad may or may not have done around this time. Did they have trouble purchasing a television at Walmart ? Were they filing their own income tax returns ? Were they listing real estate for sale ? Buying stocks & bonds ? Watching CNBC ? Or were they not capable of doing any of that?
12. Interview your mom or dad’s closest advisers who were involved in their finances or other important decisions: such as attorneys, accountants, financial advisers, realtors, and bankers
13. interview those that your mom or dad spent their time with: relatives, bridge partners, neighbors, club members—-who knew what mom or dad were doing and what their daily activities were like. These friends and colleagues may be your best witnesses for the will contest trial. They may be in the best position to know whether the dementia, or mental state, was about the same, was worsening, or was improving.

In any probate litigation case, the discovery process is the search for the truth: you are seeking to uncover facts which may help, or hurt, the Palm Beach inheritance lawsuit. Either way, you need to know what happened around the time of the will signing.

PROBATE TRIAL TIPS FOR WILL CONTESTS & PALM BEACH WILL CHALLENGES

1. Have a specific discovery strategy.
2. Set litigation goals.
3. Determine time frames to gather this dementia discovery.
4. Evaluate the information and data thoroughly once the dementia discovery is produced.
5. Assess the discovery and how it affects your case: does it help your probate case or hurt your inheritance lawsuit?
6. Consider: What is the best evidence of dementia?
7. Can you rebut, or discount, the evidence or medical records which you think hurt your probate litigation case?