Florida Probate Attorney 561 948-8205 or 954 920-2886 Estate Settlement Lawyer
Boca Raton Probate Estate Litigation Information and Florida Probate Litigation Info
Boca Raton Probate Estate Litigation cases are heard in the Palm Beach County Probate Court which is the civil division of the circuit court for the south part of Palm Beach County.
Just as it is for Boca Raton Probate Administration cases the address for the Boca Raton Probate Court is at 200 West Atlantic in Delray Beach Florida.
There are various types of Boca Raton Estate Litigation and Boca Raton Probate Litigation. Boca Raton Will Contests and more general Estate Litigation concerning Boca Raton Probate Estates.
A Boca Raton Will Contest is when a person dies as a resident of and domiciled in Boca Raton or owning real estate in Boca Raton in their sole name and there is a will that has sought to be admitted to probate in the Boca Raton Probate Court. If an interested party one whom may be impacted by the terms of the will or validity of the will does not believe that it was either properly executed as Florida law requires, that it was forged and not the signature of the testator or that it was the result of either lack of mental capacity to make the will and/or there had been undue influence regarding the will then the will can be contested or disputed and sought it to be declared as invalid or partially invalid. It can be a good idea to speak with an estate attorney who can advise regarding Florida estate law and the chances for success in Boca Raton Probate Court. An Estate Litigation Attorney who can assist with a Boca Raton Will Contest and Estate Litigation case should be retained if there is enough money involved and there is a legal basis to pursue a claim. Even if a person is an interested party to the will they cannot bring a will contest merely because the terms of the will are unfair or strange but must have a cause of action such as those mentioned above. The two most frequest reasons to bring a Florida Will Contest are lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence.
Testamentary Capacity is typically referred to as the ability to understand generally the nature and extent of ones property, the relationship to those who would otherwise be their heirs and the impact of the will.
Undue Influence is present when the testator’s mind was so controlled by persuasion, pressure, or other influences that they did not act voluntarily but were subject to the control of another when execution took place and the contents of the will were based on the pressure of the other. The undue influence occurs from someone in a position of trust such as a family member, friend or trust advisor or assistant. There actions often disrupt long patterns of how the decedents estate was going to pass such as divided evenly among the children then suddenly all to one children who had continually and pressured their elderly parent to make changes and obtained an attorney who would help make the changes. The pivotal case in this field of law is The Estate of Carpenter a 1971 case which laid out several factors or issues which are lacked at by the Florida Probate Court to determine if undue influence was present. Depending on the facts the whole will or just a portion can be invalidated if undue influence is found to exist.
While a person may believe that there was no testamentary capacity and/or undue influence existed however they are not able to challenge or contest a will until the death of the testator.
The same principles for undue influence in the context of a will apply to apply to other situations as well and are not limited merely to Florida Will Contests but also apply to Florida Trust Disputes. A Boca Raton Trust Litigation case would likewise be held in the Boca Raton Probate Court. It could also be used to show that a deed, or beneficiary designations on bank accounts, insurance accounts, or other assets may also be challenged. For those assets the person can typically just change it back if they are still alive and change their minds although if they lack capacity or are unable to act and someone else challenges the actions it could potentially be challenged during the persons lifetime often as part of a guardianship litigatioin case or abuse of power of attorney case. If the person takes these actions but is not challenged until after the death in appropriate circumstances an estate litigation attorney can show the court in an estate related litigation case why the assets should not bypass probate but should instead be returned to the person who initally owned the property and pass through there estate.
If a potential beneficiary believes that there has been an injustice and they are the victim of someone having used undue influence to have another cut them out of their share of an estate, that a person had diminished capacity or lack of capacity which can be determined by conduct and communction of the decedent during their lifetime around the time of the execution and through medical records or some other reason then they should act quickly. This is because there is a relatively quick time period to still be allowed to pursue a will contest. Boca Raton Probate Court just like all Florida Probate Courts would only allow 90 days from the date of receipt of notice of administration in order to challenge or contest the will. If formal notice is provided prior to the admission of the will to probate the time period is cut down to just 20 days. It is also important not to sign a waiver that waives any right to contest the will.
In addition to Boca Raton Will Contests and challenging or disputing beneficiary designations, abuse of power of attorney or other transactions based on lack of testamentary capacity or undue influence there are other types of estate litigation which are pursued in probate court.
If there has been a breach of fidcuiary duty in which a trustee or personal representative are accused of self dealing to benefit themselves such as buying a home themself for $100,000 when it was worth $1,000,000, improper valuation of property such as taking the value of the gold in a collectible coin instead of the particular coin itself which may have substantially higher value given it being a collectible and limited quantity
The personal representative of an estate owes the beneficiaries and heirs of the estate fiduciary duties of honesty, reasonable competence, and loyalty. When those duties are abused by a personal representative, it could cause harm to the value of estate assets.
Estate Litigation may also occur when there has been a failure to follow Florida Probate statutes, rules of probate procedure, or an order of the Florida probate court, there has been a fraud such as stating that there were only two children of an intestate estate when there were 3 or other fraudulent actions in a probate case.
Improper investments may give rise to estate litigation. Merely because money is lost does not mean that there is grounds for a lawsuit although if there was gross negligence such as a failure to diversify which was the reason for significant losses or a corporate trustee compounding that problem by buying only their stock that could result in liability as could other inapppropriate types of investments reasonable care and skill must be used. If there was a significant underperformance of the market in general the corporate trustee may be held accountable although the reason for the loses would be important to determine and the market overall. While both those who invested with Warren Buffett and Bernie Madoff suffered significant loses in 2008 with Berkshire Hathaway which had been one of the best investments for decades plunging substantially that was quite different than the fraud that Madoff pulled not actually even investing the money but merely using the money in a ponzi scheme so improper investments by a fiduciary could give rise to litigation and holding the trustee, personal representative or other fiduciary liable but facts and circumstances are important.
Florida has a presumed reasonable fee schedule of 3% of the value of an estate for a personal representative as well as their attorney and there are additional fees for some additional services as well as the statute allowing other arrangements between the beneficiaries and the attorney / personal representative is entitled to hire any other professional they feel appropriate. However if a personal representative charges the estate 6% on a $3 million single asset estate without a contract from the beneficiaries that could clearly be considered an example of excessive compensation which could be pursued in probate court.
Boca Raton Will Contests, Estate Litigation, and Boca Probate Litigation Disputes do not offer the opportunity for a jury trial. This is a standard procedure for all Florida Estate Litigation and most states. The cases are tried before a judge. However in these types of cases they are more often than not settled among the Probate attorneys and Estate lawyers involved with the case after reviewing the facts of the case and the law which apply to it. While the Anna Nicole Smith situation with her former husband is the exception in that it still is dragging on over a decade later and having made its way to numerous courts even the US Supreme Court typically estate litigation type of cases can be somewhat time consuming as depositions of the parties involved need to be taken, petitions need to be filed and various facts need to be explored then researching those issues and seeking to settle among opposing parties. In some states they allow a no contest clause to be placed in a will or a trust which would result in a beneficiary to lose their interest in the estate plan if they contested or disputed the will or trust. Florida, however by statute explicitly prohibits no contest clauses and it would be unenforceable if in a document that was admitted to Florida probate as against public policy.
If a person intends to leave more property for one child than another, to a friend or in some unusual manner that may come as a surprise to the family it could be wise to discuss with the family the reasons for doing so as it could reduce the chances that the family member could believe that it must be the result of lack of capacity or undue influence that caused the unexpected result (as they are unable to argue merely unfairness). By doing so they can help save some time and money as well as hard feelings among those whom they are leaving the property to. If one child is a multi millionaire while another is a hard worker but makes a modest amount and is barely getting by it may make sense and not be due to lack of love or respect that the less well of child is provided for more but given that person needs more assistance.
The Estate Planning Law Firm, P.A. and Florida Probate Attorney David S. Luber, LL.M. helps with Boca Raton Probate Administration and inheritance law throughout most throughout most of Florida focussing on Palm Beach and Broward County Probate estates. David also offers a free consultation to discuss probate cases. He can discuss the facts with beneficiaries of their situation and advise whether they likely have an estate litigation or related case worth pursuing, explain Florida law to them and see that they get help to receive everything they are legally entitled to receive from the Florida estate and seek to insure justice prevails. David can be reached at his direct extension of 954 920-2886 and unless speaking with another client is typically available 9am to 6:30pm Monday through Friday and 11:30-3:30 on Saturday. Email to David@FloridaProbate.org is also frequently checked and responded to for all probate and inheritance related issues.