ESTATE LAWSUITS: HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE A CASE ?

• Many prospective clients call up and ask “Do I have a case?”
• If you have been dis-inherited from a Palm Beach estate or inherited less from that big family trust in Boca Raton, you might be thinking about a will challenge or trust lawsuit. (Now… hold on !)
• Whether you really want to bring an estate lawsuit in Palm Beach to challenge the will, or not, requires careful consideration of a number of factors.
• You need to consider whether you have a good case or not ….or whether your allegations are just a pile of junk.
• Here are some helpful tips to consider when you are interviewing probate litigators or thinking about filing a probate lawsuit in Palm Beach.

1. What do you get if you win the probate litigation? (What are your damages? Your best day in probate court? Make sure your probate litigator has multiple damage scenarios based upon what the probate judge may, or may not, “find.”) You need to know what you are fighting for. Why? It doesn’t make sense to spend, say, $250,000 in attorneys fees to have a 30% probability of recovering only $100,000.
2. What’s your downside? Because of Florida statutes which are “fee shifting statutes” found in the Florida Probate Code, whoever loses will probably end up paying the other side’s attorneys fees and costs. What does that translate to? You have a downside, if you lose, of paying $100,000-$350,000 in attorneys fees depending on how complex, long or “hard fought” the probate trial and the discovery process are. This is no joke and should be considered in your risk analysis of your estate lawsuit.
3. How long will it take to get a probate trial? Time is money, and money today is worth more than maybe losing a year from now.
4. What are the factors that will help me the most? What is the other side’s weak points ? Can they be used in a strategic fashion before trial or how will they be used at the inheritance trial?
5. Be realistic. Prospective clients to a probate lawsuit tend to overplay their hand and believe their case is clear and easy. Remember: There are two sides to every story and a probate judge in Palm Beach is going to consider, at least consider, both sides. Our probate judges have literally decades of trials under their belt, and they are going to evaluate each case on the merits, without the emotion which clients or heirs may have. So be realistic with your expectations.

In the end, you and your Palm Beach probate litigation law firm will want to consider all the factors which can make you win or lose your probate lawsuit— even the bad ones or the weak side of your case. Be focused and be realistic. Fight hard. But don’t let “junky” facts blur your vision of the likelihood of success at trial.