Pretermitted Spouses and Probate Lawsuits

What is a pretermitted spouse? What should trust and estates attorneys in West Palm Beach know about pretermitted spouses? If your husband wrote his Florida will years before he met you, you may want to read Florida Statute 732.301.

A pretermitted party, in general, is party that is left out of your Florida will because they were not in existence at the time you executed the will. This can happen to a child, and it can also happen to a spouse. Suppose your husband made his will in 1990, which was 20 years before he even met you! Now, he loves you but forgets to make another will. Are you, as his beloved spouse, out of luck? Not necessarily! In Florida, a pretermitted spouse is entitled to the intestate share they would have received if they weren’t left out of the will. This money is taken out of the estate and other beneficiaries may get upset. Do you have further questions regarding pretermitted spouses? Contact a West Palm Beach law firm that handles probate litigation.

Florida Statute 732.301 Pretermitted spouse.—

When a person marries after making a will and the spouse survives the testator, the surviving spouse shall receive a share in the estate of the testator equal in value to that which the surviving spouse would have received if the testator had died intestate, unless: