Man Finds 1.1 Million Reasons to Drop His Case: Settling Out of Court in West Palm Beach

Often times in West Palm Beach court a case settles outside of  Court do you know what that means? Did you know that you may also be able to settle a will contest or other actions in West Palm Beach probate court and avoid a jury trial? Take a look at this recent case out of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and weigh the pros and cons of settling your probate dispute amicably, outside of Court.

Why Settle Outside of Court

• There are a number of reasons that you may want to settle outside of Court in West Palm Beach when embroiled in a probate dispute.
• For one thing you can have some privacy, a judgment is part of the public record.
• Settlements are usually confidential in nature meaning you do not have to share with the world how your case ended.
• Also going to trial in West Palm Beach is expensive!
• If you get a half million dollars but spent almost half that in trial and litigation expenses you may be cutting off your nose to spite your face.
• Often times by the time trial has come around the parties know how the case is turning and what evidence each side plans to produce.
• Are you sure that the jury is not going to see your side of the story?
• You may be able to use the evidence you do have to leverage a strong settlement.
• Probate lawyers hate uncertainty and there is little uncertainty in a settlement.
• Litigants also can rest easy that a random jury is not determining the family’s West Palm Beach estate issues.
• Are you considering whether or not to offer to settle?
• A settlement conference can often put both sides on notice that this case does not have to go to trial.
• Check out this recent case with a 1.1 million dollar settlement after a will contest.

Declercq v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

• This was an appeal from the Sixth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals.
• A woman had created a trust in 1992 and left it to a charity if she left no living issue.
• After her death her cousin attempted to probate a will that said among other things that the trust was to be terminated and that he [the cousin] would be the primary beneficiary.
• The charity instituted a will contest to try to keep that will from being admitted to probate.
• Rather than go to trial the cousin accepted an offer of settlement for 1.1 million dollars!
• The Trust was worth about five million dollars.
• Would you have settled?
• Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know that sometimes settlement is impossible and you have to go to trial.
• That does not mean that you cannot try to reach a settlement though.

Want to learn more about settlements outside of Court in West Palm Beach?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.