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What if a Prior Will or Trust Exists? April 20, 2016 Second DCA Opinion

Uncategorized • Apr 29, 2016
post about What if a Prior Will or Trust Exists? April 20, 2016 Second DCA Opinion

Did your mom or dad write a Florida will and then change it later in life? Which version of the trust or will is considered by the Florida probate court? Have you amended your Florida will multiple times? How do prior trusts or wills come into play in a probate lawsuit in Florida?

Multiple Wills and Trusts in Florida Probate Litigation

  • Many times,in Florida, people put an estate plan in place.
  • This could be a will or a trust.
  • Over the years, people may wish to amend or change their estate plan.
  • In some cases, people even request to create a new Florida will to replace a prior one.
  • When a person dies, a Florida estate planning lawyer may have a number of wills or trusts for that person.
  • Sometimes, estate attorneys West Palm Beach just keep the newest will and allow their client to hold the prior wills.
  • Many people today are hiring trust lawyers to file a trust lawsuit in Florida if they object to a trust, or want to overturn an amendment in a will.
  • An issue that is very important in a will or a trust contest is Florida’s concept of the Doctrine of Dependent Relative Revocation.
  • This doctrine suggests that, if the most recent will or trust is not valid, prior wills or trusts may be revived and come back to life.
  • How do probate judges West Palm Beach determine if a will is valid?
  • If the Doctrine of Dependent Reative Revocation is properly invoked or plead in an estate or trust lawsuit, the issue of whether prior trusts or wills exist comes into play.
  • From a Florida probate litigation standpoint, and a Florida evidence standpoint ,we want to know who, if anybody, has the original wills.
  • In probate courts Delray Beach, it is very important to be able to introduce original wills and trusts into evidence.
  • You want to be able to hold the will up in the air and see the indentation of a ballpoint pen in the paper.
  • This is because evidence in Florida is supposed to be authentic, relevant and admissible.
  • If it is not, the proponent of that document has evidentiary problems in their inheritance lawsuit.
  • If originals are not available, your probate litigator West Palm beach will want to know why.
  • In Florida, if someone passes away with a will but it is nowhere to be found,  there’s a presumption that it was destroyed and doesn’t exist.
  • This can, however, be overcome by circumstantial evidence in some cases.

Caballero v. U.S Bank National Association