Why Doesn’t the Florida Probate Court Accept Holographic Wills for Administration?

Estate attorneys Florida will tell you that the rules of will formalities  matter big time. Sometimes a will may be valid in some states but not in Florida. Do you know how? But wait, what about reciprocity? Florida probate lawyers know that in the case of a holographic will you may just be out of luck.

Reciprocity of Wills

• In general given the propensity of people to move throughout the years, Courts try to respect wills from other states.
• Florida estate attorneys refer to this as reciprocity.
• The basic argument is some Florida will contest lawyer should not be able to stop probate because of one little conflict in the laws.
• Suppose Arizona only requires one witness to sign a will, should that will be ignored in Florida?
• Probate attorneys Florida would say probably not.
• That being said there are a couple situations where the will is not going to be respected.
• Do you know the big one you may need to worry about?
• What do Florida probate attorneys need to know about holographic wills?

Holographic Wills

• What is a holographic will?
• First off, in Florida probate litigation it’s a problem.
• Generally, though a holographic will is a handwritten or unwitnessed Last Will and Testament.
• This is a problem as Florida probate lawyers will tell you that probate court is not going to accept that document.
• So now what?
• Check out this recent probate appeal from Connecticut to learn more.

Goodwin v. Colchester Probate Court

• This was an appeal in Connecticut centered around objecting a will to probate.
• The objections were based on several issues but at the end of the day this was a holographic will.
• Probate attorneys Florida know that for the probate court that is a non-starter.
• This entire estate may have ended up through intestate succession if it had occurred in Florida.
• What else do you need to know about will formalities in Florida?
• The answers may surprise you.

Want to learn more?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.

• Watch free Florida Trust, Probate & Guardianship videos, which include important topics of Florida estate, guardianship, attorneys fees, & trust law.
• There is no cost, no sign up, no one will ask you for your email address to see these dozens of free Florida probate videos: http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com/videos/