Why Do Florida Will Contest Lawyers Need to Follow the Rules of Probate Court AND the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure?

Failure to follow the procedure in a Florida will contest could mean your case being dismissed. Florida probate judges do not have time to pick up the pieces of a poorly crafted probate lawsuit. Can you blame them? The Courts are overworked, one way to get the results you need is to make their jobs as simple as you can. That is why procedure is so important.

Following the Rules

• Following the procedure set up by the Florida probate court is very important if you want to win.
• Do you know the rules?
• For one thing estate attorneys Florida need to file your Florida will contest within the statute of limitations.
• Do you know how long that is?
• There are other formalities that you simply cannot escape.
• For example, have you paid the clerk of courts the filing fee?
• How much is the filing fee in a simple Florida will contest?
• Florida probate lawyers know that it could be hundreds of dollars.
• What happens when you do not pay the filing fee?
• These are all great ways to get your Florida probate lawsuit dismissed.
• Check out this recent probate appeal to learn what not to do.

Blackman v. Gholson

• This was an appeal from the probate court in Indiana.
• Here the probate attorney apparently did not have a lot of experience in will contests.
• So he called the clerk and asked how to file one and she told him to just do it within the probate administration.
• Experienced Florida estate lawyers know that is the incorrect procedure.
• Was what that lawyer did paramount to legal malpractice?
• Either way the lawsuit had a ton of other issues with it.
• The petitioner had failed to include certain parties or to serve them.
• In fact, he did not even pay the clerk of Courts filing fee.
• This is not how you successfully prosecute a Florida will contest, and apparently these tricks no not work in Indiana either.

Want to learn more?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.

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