A Boca Raton Probate Litigation Attorney Can Help Ease the Stress of Your Probate Disputes
Probate disputes can arise when family members or beneficiaries disagree about how a will or estate should be handled. These matters can quickly become emotional and legally complex, especially when family relationships are involved. Having an experienced attorney ensures your rights are protected and that the legal process is handled correctly from start to finish.
A Boca Raton probate litigation attorney can help reduce the stress and uncertainty that often come with probate disputes. Ellis Law Group, P.L. is a Boca Raton probate litigation law firm offering solutions in all types of estate disputes. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist your family in resolving probate matters.
What Is Probate?
Probate is the legal term for the administration of a decedent’s estate. Probate begins when a petition is filed with the appropriate court to open the estate and formally recognize the personal representative’s authority. Once appointed, the personal representative is responsible for identifying and collecting the decedent’s assets, which may include bank accounts, real estate, personal property, and investments. These assets must then be properly valued, safeguarded, and managed throughout the probate process.
In addition, the personal representative must notify creditors of the estate and ensure that valid debts, taxes, and administrative expenses are paid before any distributions are made to beneficiaries. This step is critical because failure to properly address creditor claims can expose the personal representative to personal liability.
Probate also involves a court-supervised review to ensure that the estate is being administered in accordance with Florida law and the terms of the will, if one exists. If there is no will, the estate is distributed according to Florida’s intestacy statutes, which determine the order of inheritance among surviving relatives.
Oftentimes, disagreements can arise in the course of this process. These conflicts can lead to probate litigation, which often requires court intervention to resolve. Probate disputes may arise over issues such as the validity of a will, allegations of undue influence, improper handling of estate assets, or disagreements among beneficiaries regarding their rightful share of the estate.
If no resolution can be reached, the court will decide the outcome. As probate litigation can involve evidentiary hearings, witness testimony, and extensive review of financial records and estate documents, it often necessitates the retention of a Boca Raton probate litigation attorney.
The Parties Involved in a Probate Litigation Case
Probate litigation can involve anyone who has a potential interest in the decedent’s estate. Some of the most common parties involved in probate litigation include:
- The decedent’s spouse
- Friends or family members who believe they were wrongfully disinherited
- The personal representative of the will charged with handling the distribution of the estate
- Any beneficiary who disputes the claims of other beneficiaries
To further complicate matters, probate litigation will often involve all of the parties to the will. This is because there is only a limited pool of assets, and any change in the distribution could potentially affect the claims of other beneficiaries. As a result, even individuals who are not actively disputing the estate may still be forced to participate in the legal process. If you’ve been pulled into litigation due to a dispute between other beneficiaries, a Boca Raton probate litigation attorney can help you understand your rights, your potential liability, and what is at stake.
Our Boca Raton Probate Litigation Attorney Outlines Situations That Lead to Disputes
Deciding how to dispose of your assets is a necessarily complex matter that involves business and tax considerations, as well as familial and personal relationships. When developing your estate plan, understanding and identifying the sources of potential conflict can help you craft the best possible plan. Here are some of the situations that commonly give rise to estate disputes:
- Problems with the estate documents. A common cause of estate litigation is overly complicated estate plans that give rise to confusion and conflicting interpretations. Similarly, estate plans that involve several different documents drafted over several years and scattered across different states can also give rise to disputes. Disputes can also arise when the decadent drafted their own estate documents without the help of an attorney and the documents do not meet certain legal requirements.
- Multiple marriages. Multiple marriages often lead to will disputes for a variety of reasons. Disputes may be caused by problems with the estate documents due to multiple revisions. Each revision increases the chance of mistakes, outdated documents, or conflicting instructions. An older will may still list a former spouse as a beneficiary, or certain assets may not have been properly updated to reflect the decedent’s current intentions. Or, the marriages may create conflict between different heirs. For example, the decedent’s first spouse and their children may resent the second spouse and their children. The decedent’s children from a first marriage may feel entitled to inherit most of the estate, especially if they believe their parent built wealth during the first marriage or promised them certain assets. At the same time, the second spouse may expect to receive the majority of the estate as the surviving spouse.
- Family division. Long-simmering family conflicts can often rear their heads when it comes to distributing the assets of the estate. Sibling rivalries or estranged family members may take issue with the estate even though these conflicts have been dormant for years. One sibling may feel they were treated unfairly growing up, while another may believe they contributed more to the family. An estranged family member could argue that they were intentionally excluded from the family.
- Excluded family members. Disinheriting a family member from a will often leads to estate litigation. Typically, the family member will argue that the decedent was excluded due to undue influence from some other beneficiary that received what should have been their share of the state.
- Treating children differently. Another source of conflict arises whenever an estate gives preference to one child over another. For example, a younger daughter who receives a greater inheritance than her older brother is likely to spark a dispute. Similarly, an estate plan that gives preference to stepchildren over the decedent’s biological children might also be controversial.
Working with an experienced Boca Raton probate litigation attorney can help you achieve your objectives while avoiding potential problems.
Types of Florida Probate and Trust Litigation Matters
When people think of probate litigation, challenging a will or trust usually is the first thing that comes to mind. But trust and estates litigation can involve any contested issue that arises in the administration of trusts and estates that is argued in court. The most common types of matters that require the assistance of a Boca Raton probate litigation attorney include will and trust contests, suits alleging wrongdoing by trustees and executors/personal representatives, construction proceedings (that is, matters to determine the meaning and effect of the terms contained in an estate planning document), elective share litigation and other disputes concerning spousal rights, determining heirs and beneficiaries, and disputes surrounding accounting matters. The term can also include litigation concerning other documents which purport to designate beneficiaries upon death, such as bank account titling documents and real property deeds.
Will and Trust Contests
A will or trust contest is a formal objection by an interested person to the validity of the document at issue. These disputes often arise when family members believe the document does not reflect the true intentions of the person who created it. It usually based on an allegation of one or more of the following:
- The will or trust is invalid because it was not executed according to law
- Florida law requires a will to be signed by the testator and witnessed by two people who are present at the same time. If the will was not signed correctly, lacked the required witnesses, or the witnesses did not properly observe the signing, the document may be challenged in probate court.
- The testator/settlor (the person who executed the document) lacked mental capacity at the time the document was discussed and/or signed
- A testator or settlor may lack mental capacity if they do not understand what they are doing when creating or signing a will or trust. This includes not understanding their property, their heirs, or how their assets will be distributed. Mental capacity can be affected by conditions like dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, mental illness, or even temporary confusion or medication. To make a valid will or trust, a person must have “testamentary capacity” and be of sound mind at the time of signing.
- The document is the product of undue influence
- Undue influence occurs when someone pressures, manipulates, or coerces the testator or settlor into changing their will or trust. This often involves taking advantage of a vulnerable person who depends on the influencer for care or support. If proven, the court may invalidate the document because it does not reflect the true wishes of the person who created it.
- The document is a forgery or is otherwise the product of fraud
- Forgery occurs when someone falsely signs another person’s name or alters a will or trust without permission. Fraud may also involve tricking the testator or settlor into signing a document they do not understand or misrepresenting important facts.
These same arguments are also often made in disputes involving account beneficiary designation forms and real property deeds.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty.
A fiduciary relationship is one of the highest duties recognized under the law, requiring the fiduciary to act solely in the best interests of the beneficiaries at all times. This means avoiding self-dealing, conflicts of interest, and any actions that could improperly benefit the fiduciary at the expense of the estate or trust.
The fiduciary of an estate (personal representative or executor) and trust (trustee) owes numerous duties to its beneficiaries. These include duties of loyalty, a duty to account and inform, and a duty to prudently administer. Likewise, beneficiaries of estates and trusts have rights and entitlements and can hold the fiduciary accountable if these rights are violated or if the fiduciary breaches its duties.
Fiduciary litigation offers beneficiaries whose rights have been violated myriad remedies when fiduciaries are guilty of misconduct. These remedies can include the return of misappropriated assets, the removal of the fiduciary, and can also result in the fiduciary being required to account for its actions.
Will and Trust Construction
A construction matter may end up in probate litigation when the terms of the will or trust are vague or subject to multiple interpretations. In these proceedings court proceedings are necessary to resolve the disputed issues.
- Elective share. Absent a valid pre- or post-marital agreement, a surviving spouse in Florida has an absolute right to a share of the deceased spouse’s assets known as the elective share. This type of matter might end up before a probate judge if the elective share is being withheld from a spouse or if the estate administrator contests that the amount is owed to the spouse.
- Determination of heirs. Sometimes, when a decedent dies intestate, the court must become involved in identifying the heirs to the estate.
- Accounting. A beneficiary of an estate can bring an action in probate court against a personal representative for an accounting of estate assets.
Re-Titled and Wrongfully Transferred Assets/Depleted Estate
One of the fundamental tenets of probate is that a decedent’s will only controls the disposition and distribution of probate assets. Often times, usually late in a decedent’s lifetime, the titling of assets changes or assets are transferred in a manner which results in a reduction in value of the estate. For instance, a bank account once held in the decedent’s name alone is retitled such that it is held by the decedent and his or her son as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. In some cases, substantial funds from a large account are transferred, without rhyme or reason, shortly before the decedent’s death. It is also not uncommon that a family member becomes a signatory on a decedent’s account and abuses that power for personal gain by using the decedent’s assets for personal purposes.
In many of these cases, the manner in which these assets are transferred or retitled is profoundly at odds with the terms of the decedent’s will, thereby suggesting that the decedent did not legitimately intend for these transactions to occur.
Probate courts are courts of equity, which means that the judges who preside over estate matters look past the form of a transaction or asset in order to determine the true substance or truth. Courts have the power to order the return of these assets to the estate either through subsequent retitling or the delivery of funds. In addition, where an individual who is a beneficiary of the estate is found to have committed this type of wrongdoing, the court can find that the beneficiary’s interest in the estate has been satisfied to the extent of the unjust enrichment.
It is critical that people harmed by these acts protect themselves, and to do so within various limitations periods imposed by Florida law. A Boca Raton probate litigation attorney at the Ellis Law Group is available for clients throughout Florida to consult in matters such as these.
Contact an Experienced Boca Raton Probate Litigation Attorney Today
Not everyone needs to hire a probate litigation lawyer. Most estates — especially those that have benefited from sound estate planning — can go through probate without incident. But the reality is that disputes do arise among heirs and beneficiaries of estates and trusts. In the cases where disagreements rise to the level that a court must intervene, an Ellis Law Group Boca Raton probate litigation attorney will help you protect your rights.
If you and your loved ones are struggling with a probate dispute, a Boca Raton probate litigation attorney at Ellis Law Group can offer you the experienced and compassionate legal representation you need. Contact us online or by phone at 561-910-7500.