You May Have as Little as Ninety Days to File a Will Contest in West Palm Beach

If you have already had a chance to look at the West Palm Beach will and know  that there is some foul play afoot, the next step is going to be to file a will contest. Do you know how long you have in West Palm Beach to file the will contest? The statute of limitations is very short for filing a will contest, how short is it?

Statutes of Limitations

• Do you know what a statute of limitations is?
• These are the time limits for filing a lawsuit in West Palm Beach.
• Different law suits have different limitations periods.
• For example while you may have years to file a claim for breach of contract you will only have a matter of months for certain probate lawsuits.
• What are the limitations periods you need to worry about for a will contest?

Will Contest in West Palm Beach

• Unfortunately in Florida the limitations period is rather short for filing a will contest.
• It does not matter if you plan on contesting based on lack of testamentary intent, duress or even undue influence.
• The limitations period is only ninety days.
• The interesting part is when the timer starts ticking.
• You may have assumed that it starts upon the decedent’s death but that is a common mistake.
• In reality the limitations period of ninety days starts when you are served with a notice of administration.
• Do you know what a notice of administration is?
• This notice from the West Palm Beach probate court that the estate is to be administered pursuant to a certain will or no will at all.
• What happens if you file a will contest past the deadline?
• The other side can ask the Court to dismiss your probate lawsuit as a result of filing too late.

How to Handle a Statute of Limitations

• The easiest way to avoid any problems with the statute of limitations is to retain an experienced Palm Beach probate law firm to handle the matter.
• Probate litigators know that the Florida courts do not reward those that sleep on their rights.
• It is possible to move quickly to file a lawsuit if you know what you are doing and have the appropriate forms and experts available.