Lack of Testamentary Intent and Fraud: What to Know for West Palm Beach Probate Court

Are you considering challenging a will in West Palm Beach?  Do you have a plan of attack for trial? Do you have a theory to contest the will? Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know that this can be a moment filled with emotion, but a Court is not a forum of emotion, it is an arena of facts and law. How do you want to contest the will? Check out these common ways to challenge a will in West Palm Beach.

Lack of Testamentary Intent

• A testator must have capacity to enter into a will.
• Are you concerned a family member lacked capacity to enter into a will?
• Then you probably want to challenge it on the grounds that they lacked testamentary intent.
• The West Palm Beach probate court will assume there was testamentary intent.
• Do you know how to prove otherwise?
• You are going to need evidence, and just your testimony is probably not going to be enough.
• Do you have text messages or emails that showed your relative’s failing mental capacity?
• Have they been judged incompetent?
• In Florida merely being judged incompetent is not enough because the will could have been signed in a moment of lucidity.
• That being said it certainly helps prove your point.
• Also look back to when incompetency was proven, can you use that evidence?
• Usually that evidence is too remote but maybe they executed that will the day before a major episode, now that is some good evidence.
• What if you cannot prove lack of capacity?

Fraud

• A successful contest on grounds of fraud may be more difficult that you think.
• It will require that the testator was willfully deceived as to the character or contents of what instrument they were signing.
• What if a relative fraudulently prevented a relative from executing a will?
• West Palm Beach Courts may institute a constructive trust and order the property conveyed to the would be will beneficiaries.
• Do you know what a constructive trust is?
• Check out other blogs from our site that outline what a West Palm Beach constructive trust is, the answer may surprise you.