Will Challenge Florida

FAQs • Aug 31, 2021

There are a number of ways to handle a will challenge Florida. These depend on the facts of your particular case. However, how you approach your probate lawsuit depends upon your STRATEGY. Whether you are claiming a will is invalid based upon an insane delusion, dementia or undue influence, read on.

***Will challenge Florida is common in probate and appellate courts.***

What is a Will Challenge Florida?

A will challenge Florida is an attempt to have a will declared void. Or invalid. In some instances, you are challenging only a part of the will. Such as a provision that leaves a specific asset to a particular beneficiary. Or, the “residue”, or “residuary” clause that changes who gets everything else in the end.

A challenge may also be thought of, or described as, a Will Contest.

A will may be valid if it was not executed OR signed properly. If you don’t have two witnesses who sign in the presence of the person– and each other, who also sign in everyone’s presence– the will is not valid. Sometimes you simply start with the basics of a will challenge. Was the will signed correctly? To read a Florida appellate court opinion about will signings, click HERE.

If the person who “signed” the will did not know what was going on, the will is not valid. Probate litigators call this lacking the requisite testamentary capacity. It does not mean that a guardianship was created. A Florida resident who signs a will must know, in general terms, what she is doing. Does she know about her property? Or who her HEIRS are?

Undue Influence

A will that is caused by fraud or undue influence is not valid. For a free video on UNDUE INFLUENCE, click HERE.

But you have to make a claim or exercise your rights. In the probate setting, you may only have days or months to do this if a probate was opened. And you received notice.

Since undue influence is a kind of fraud, it must be proven with some particularity. Many times, this is where people’s legal case stumbles. Knowing how to approach or defend an undue influence case is often the key to a will challenge. THAT depends on tactics and strategy.