1-561-514-0900 FREE CONSULTATION

Can a Florida Will be Deemed Invalid if it is the Product of Undue Influence?

Uncategorized Jun 18, 2018
post about Can a Florida Will be Deemed Invalid if it is the Product of Undue Influence?

A June 6, 2017 opinion from the Court of Appeals of Georgia, Slosberg v. Giller, regards sibling rivalry and undue influence. Although this is not a Florida trust and estates case, this case provide a clear definition of what undue influence is.The appellate court states, “Undue influence which overturns an otherwise legal contract or will is the exercise of sufficient control over the person, the validity of whose act is brought into question, to destroy his free agency and constrain him to do what he would not have done if such control had not been exercised.”  Furthermore, ” to maintain a claim of  undue influence, the requisite control must operate on the mind of the person at the time he or she is executing the document in question.”

Cases just like Slosberg v. Giller are very common in Florida probate courts. Palm Beach probate lawyers know that Florida Statute 732.5165 provides that a “will is void if the execution is procured by fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence. A purported undue influencer would be one who is a substantial beneficiary under the procured will, who holds a confidential relationship with the testator, and who procured the will itself.

To learn more about undue influence, read Florida Statute 732.5165 by clicking here.