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.
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