Pro-Se Will Contest Thrown Out of Federal Court. Northern District of Florida Case.

Are you contesting a will in Palm Beach? Have you decided to go it alone   without an attorney? You may want to learn from the mistakes of others before going forward. Take a look at a recent case out of the Northern District Court of Florida regarding a pro-se litigant contesting a will.

Pro-se Litigants

• A Boynton Beach party can choose to litigate without an attorney. This is called proceeding pro-se or pro-per depending on the court you are in.
• Do you think the court will be more lenient on you because you do not have a Palm Beach attorney?
• You may be surprised to know that a court applies the same standards to a pro-se party as a party with counsel.
• Did you know that just because you cannot afford a Pompano Beach lawyer does not mean you cannot obtain one?
• Courts have a status called in forma pauperis which means if you cannot afford a lawyer, you may be entitled to be appointed one.
• Also you may be able to negotiate a contingency arrangement whereby an attorney will take a percentage of what they can get you. This means if they fail and you get nothing you also owe nothing!
• Watch out though you may still be on the hook for certain court and other costs, be sure to get it in writing.

Kelly v. Ely

• Normally federal courts will hear a case between parties from different states as long as the amount in controversy exceeds $75 thousand. This is known as diversity jurisdiction.
• Federal Courts do not like to get involved in probate matters and tend to refuse jurisdiction under a doctrine known as the probate exception.
• The plaintiff sued in federal court using diversity jurisdiction.
• The plaintiff in this matter wanted to overturn his parents wills that removed him as the primary beneficiary, alleging his aunt had exercised undue influence and fraud in getting a new will written months before his father’s death.
• The court declined to hear the case and dismissed it under the probate exception.
• Can you empathize for this client after his entire inheritance was swept away from under him? 
• Does that mean the Court should be more lenient?
• Palm Beach Probate litigators know the tricks of the trade that save time and money in probate cases, more importantly though they know how to keep a case in court to get you the relief you need.
• Proceeding pro-se can be very dangerous when you pursue a claim in a court only to find out you cannot even get jurisdiction over the case.

Want to learn more? Check out the entire case by clicking here.