Who decides what the will actually says? Illinois Court of Appeals case shows how a trial court will interpret your ambiguous will.
Are you named as a beneficiary of a West Palm Beach will subject to a condition? Maybe you were required to be married in a church or maybe you had to get your degree. Either way what happens when there is a dispute over whether or not the condition has been met? You do not have to rely on the personal representative’s interpretation of the will! In the event of the dispute you can have the West Palm Beach probate court determine whether or not you met the conditions to inherit. If you want to learn more about how a probate court interprets a will check out this case out of the Appellate Court of Illinois.
Interpreting a Will
- Often times a probate court and personal representative are left with an ambiguous will.
- The probate court will have to weigh the facts and determine the testator’s intent when he drafted the will.
- You may be entitled to an evidentiary hearing to help determine just what that intent was.
- Often times other parties are going to allege that you are not entitled to your inheritance.
- This is because it could spell a larger inheritance for them!
- Are you prepared to defend your claim to an inheritance in West Palm Beach?
- Experienced probate litigators know how to use the facts to establish the testator’s intent that you share in their estate.
- Want to learn more about how a probate court is going to interpret a will?
- Check out this recent case out of the Appellate Court of Illinois.
In re Estate of Alexander
- This was a case that dealt with something called an in terrorem clause (also known as a no contest clause).
- These clauses prevent a party from needlessly challenging a will by causing them toforfeit their inheritance.
- These are not enforceable in West Palm Beach but the case can provide insight into how a Court interprets clauses in a will.
- You are going to have to glean specifics from often very vague language, and failure to do so could mean no inheritance.
- In this case the beneficiary had an experienced attorney that was able to prove that his challenges did not violate the clause.
- As a result after the appeal he is going to inherit.
Want to learn more about how a West Palm Beach probate court is going to interpret a will?
Check out the entire case by clicking here.