Florida Estate Litigation and Testamentary Capacity

Did your mom and dad know what they were doing when they signed their Florida will? Is your grandma’s will invalid because she had Alzheimer’s or Dementia when she signed it? Is an amendment that a ninety year old woman made invalid because she is elderly? What is testamentary capacity? When is testamentary capacity required in Florida? Is it malpractice if an estate attorney West Pam Beach helps an incompetent client amend their Florida estate plan? Can a probate trial attorney Delray Beach help me prove that my dad or mom lacked testamentary capacity when they left me out of their will? A recent Pennsylvania case discusses testamentary capacity in great detail.

Testamentary Capacity in Florida Probate Litigation

• Do you know what testamentary capacity is?
• Why is it relevant?
• Do you believe that someone lacked testamentary capacity when they drafted oramended their Palm Beach will?
• Probate Litigators Delray Beach know that testamentary capacity refers to the ability of a testator to make decisions.
• What is required for someone to have capacity in Florida?
• That is a question to discuss with your Florida probate attorney.
• Did you know that the capacity to enter into contracts or make decisions as decided by a Florida guardianship lawsuit may be separate and distinct from testamentary capacity?
• Which one do Florida lawyers need to see in order to allow you to make or amend your trust?
• Check out this recent case out of Pennsylvania to learn more.

In re Estate of Mantell- Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

• Although this May 4,2016 case is not a Florida case, it gives an in depth description of what is required for testamentary capacity.
• Here, family members were fighting about an estate worth about $5.5 million.
• There were some codicils and new wills executed and also an issue regarding whether someone had legal standing to contest the wills.
• Is testamentary capacity required to create or amend a Boca Raton trust or will?
• The court quotes another case, In re Estate of Smaling, which stated:

“Testamentary capacity exists when the testator has intelligent knowledge of the natural objects of [her] bounty, the general composition of [her] estate, and what[ she wants done with it, even if [her] memory is impaired by age or disease. Neither old age, nor its infirmities, including untidy habits, partial loss of memory, inability to recognize acquaintances, and incoherent speech, will deprive a person of the right to dispose of [her] own property. In determining testamentary capacity, a greater degree of proof of mental incapacity is required than would be necessary to show the inability to conduct one’s business affairs. Finally, testamentary capacity is to be ascertained as of the date of execution of the contested document.”