Will Contest After You Receive the House Deed? September, 2014 probate litigation lawsuit

Can you contest the will in a probate action if you already received benefits? A September 10, 2014 appeals court probate opinion dealt with this estate lawsuit issue.  If you are involved in a probate action to contest the will, a will contest, or a similar estate lawsuit, you may want to read what this probate decision said. How the family members sued each other in the probate, and how an inheritance was objected to, may shed light on recent probate litigation.

Mom Creates 50-50 Estate Plan for Son & Daughter

• Mom had a 1985 will which was admitted to probate
• Mom’s will left inheritances to her two children — equal shares
• The will left everything to mom’s two adult children equally
• Daughter was appointed the executor of the estate, or what some call the “Executor of the will”…what we in Palm Beach County probate call the Personal Representative of the Estate
• Mom died in 2011
• February, 2012: executor conveys the house to herself and her brother, equally, as mom’s will states.

Son Objects to Mom’s Will:  probate litigation with sister

• Son objects to the will
• Son files a will contest probate lawsuit
• May 17, 2012:  son files probate petition
• Son wants a supposed later will, a 2010 will, admitted to probate

The Case of the Dueling Wills

• Which will wins— the 1985 will or the 2010 will?
• What about the deed of the house?
• Can you deed half the house from the estate to the son, and still let the son object to the will?
• Does the son have standing to object to the 1985 will after he accepted the benefitsfrom the executor of the estate?
• In Florida, probate litigators from Boca Raton to Palm Beach Gardens know that there is a general legal principle in Palm Beach County probate: you can’t accept the benefits of a will or a Florida trust on a Monday and then object to the will or trust on a Tuesday.
• But the devil is in the details, right?

Want to Read More About this Recent Probate Litigation Lawsuit?

• The case is known as: In the ESTATE OF Billye M. HORMUTH
• From the Probate Court No. 2, Bexar County, Texas, Trial Court No. 2011-PC-4120, Honorable Tom Rickhoff was the probate judge.
• Chief Justice Catherine Stone wrote the appellate opinion of this probate case.  She is with the Texas Court of Appeals, San Antonio.
• Westlaw cite: 2014 WL 4438491