Florida Will Contests

Florida Will Contest is a specific example of challenging whether a decedent's Last Will and Testament is, in fact, the Will that the Grantor (the person who died and who signed his or her Will) actually wanted to control the distribution of his or her estate. Many times sick, frail or elderly people are so desperate, confused, isolated or scared that they are "convinced" by a dishonest friend, employee or relative to prepare a new Last Will and Testament that does not reflect how the Grantor really wanted his or her estate distributed. A Last Will and Testament lawsuit attempts to void or invalidate the "bad" Will and put in its place the "good" Will which reflects the real beneficiaries of the estate.

However, when representing beneficiaries, heirs, charities or family members, estate lawyers should first attempt to negotiate an honest, fair and prompt response to the estate dispute or probate problem. Whether a will contest, trust litigation or probate lawsuit, if the case is resolved without the need for litigation it must be done by experienced probate attorney who will structure the settlement to protect the client's rights and advance favorable settlement terms taking into account the tax ramifications of any settlement. However, when the a family members, second spouse, dishonest neighbor or home health care aid has improperly placed himself or herself into a Last Will and Testament and that person will not negotiate fairly, it may become necessary for an estate litigation attorney to litigate to have your inheritance returned.

Whether an estate dispute rises to the level of a Will contest is an issue to be determined and requires an experienced estate lawyer or probate attorney to honestly evaluate the merits of the case with the client. In a Last Will and Testament dispute, an heir usually has some basic grounds or facts to believe he or she has been unfairly omitted from the Will, or not included in estate administration or probate process. An experienced probate lawyer must investigate these facts to determine whether a case exists. A good aggressive estate lawyer, should combine the client's beliefs with the opinion of the estate attorney, add the Florida statutory and case law that establishes clear rules regarding probate litigation and grounds for contesting the validity of a Will which together will assist the client in making the final decision whether to retain an estate attorney. Adrian Philip Thomas is very capable to combine these numerous factors to advise potential clients.

The evaluation of the facts and evidence by an experienced lawyer like Adrian P. Thomas may lead to the conclusion that grounds exist to support a lawsuit for an undue influence claim (which challenge whether the Grantor freely and voluntarily made a Last Will and Testament) or a lawsuit to challenge a Will based on a person's lack of testamentary capacity (when the testator does not have sufficient mental capacity to understand the nature, details and ramification of a Will). Regardless of the actual lawsuit filed, the analysis must be done in a comprehensive manner by an experienced probate lawyer before engaging in estate litigation or probate challenge. For example, sometimes the evaluation by the estate attorney discovers that the witnesses to the Last Will and Testament did not sign in the presence of the Grantor or each other which would cause the will to be invalid and thus present additional grounds to file a lawsuit.