Which will is valid? March 27, 2015 Georgia Probate Case

What happens if you decide to make a new will and you destroy the prior  will but never validly executed the new will? Which will is valid? What is a probate Palm Beach to do in the case of prior wills? Would you prefer that your assets pass through the prior (destroyed, or revoked) will or would you prefer no will at all? Without a will the Florida Probate Code says that the assets of the testator will pass through Florida intestacy. A little known probate legal concept: the doctrine of dependent relative revocation reared its head in a Georgia case that came out on March 27, 2015. If you are involved in a will challenge Palm Beach or you have an contested probate Delray Beach, you may want to read this probate legal appeal opinion about prior wills.

• the doctrine of dependant relative revocation arose due to the predicament I alluded to upstairs, what do we do about a person whose new will is invalid, use the old will or no will at all?
• The Court has the power to interpret the ambiguous act (the revocation of the will) to ascertain what the testator did but not to disregard an express statement of the testator and substitute its own conception of what the testator should have done.
• In other words the court’s analysis is what the testator intended, not what would be the wisest decision for the testator under the facts of the case.

Probate lawsuit with battle of the wills: which will is valid and who inherits the estate?

• Georgia Supreme Court denied grandsons 1988 will that was submitted for Probate in this 2015 case issued on March 27, 2015:
• Mosley v. Lancaster dealt with a grandchild who had offered a 1988 will for probate and the probate court denied the will’s admission. The court found that the decedent had revoked her 1988 will and it was not validated based upon the doctrine discussed above.
• This case was complicated because it dealt with codicils or a portion of a will; in other words the Grandmother in this case did not just invalidate her whole will,  she invalidated part and meant to replace part. This piece meal approach to estate planning might cost the family down the road, can you guess why? Or, are codicils the way to go?
• In Palm Beach probate will contests, the doctrine of dependent relative revocation is alive and well.
• So, if you have a will challenge Palm Beach Gardens, do you know what questions to ask of your estate litigation law firm and what discovery will help or hurt your probate case?

Why would the grandchild want to admit a will revoked by the testator? Why do you think? Are will challenges really about the testators true intent to litigants like the grandchild or is there more at work here? Whose “intent” do the parties really want the court to take into consideration?

Want to read the entire case? Read the entire opinion here.