Florida Probate Blog

A Call For Help from the Probate Bar to the Psychology Clinicians The dramatic increase of cases challenging the validity of wills based on the deficient mental capacity of the person making the will has been measured, verified, and commented on by many legal observers. The reason for the increase in probate litigation is subject to debate; however, I have found in my discussions with other trust and estate practitioners that most will agree the relevant factors causing the increase include the rapidly growing number of older persons with medical and psychiatric problems affecting their mental and cognitive ability; the tremendous transfer of wealth taking place between the World War II and baby boomer generations and the change in the traditional nuclear family. See Daniel Marson and Laurie Zebley, The Other Side of the Retirement Years: Cognitive Decline, Dementia, and Loss of Financial Capacity, 41 Ret.Plan. 30 (2001); Harold T. […]

Previous blog posts have discussed the fundamentals of will contests in Florida. These actions occur when a will is offered for probate (See Post dated October 28, 2008 What is the Definition of Probate) which is always after the testator has died. One of the most common grounds for a person seeking to invalidate a will offered for probate is that the will was executed at a time when the testator (the person signing the will) lacked testamentary capacity. The legal standard for testamentary capacity is that the testator knew the nature and extent of his or her property, the natural objects of his or her bounty (property) and the contents of his or her estate plan. See, In re Estate of Tolin, 622 So.2d 988, 990 (Fla. 1993). Since the person signing the will isn’t alive to testify or be examined in order to determine testamentary capacity, the court […]

WILL CONTEST FLORIDA Proving Incapacity: How Can You Determine Whether Dementia Played a Role in the Will Change? Tested Methods for a Challenging Evidentiary Task In an earlier blog, I reminded readers that Florida is home to the nation’s largest geriatric population, many of whom are vulnerable to exploitation due to the infirmities of age and diminished mental capacity. A recent study discovered that the prevalence of dementia is estimated to double every five years in the elderly, growing from a disorder that affects 1 percent of persons 60 years old to a condition afflicting approximately 30 percent to 45 percent of persons 85 years old. It Just Doesn’t Make Any Sense Many times I am asked to represent persons who don’t live in Florida and don’t see their elderly Florida relatives on a daily basis. During their visits to Florida they notice a change in their elderly relative’s behavior, […]

WILL EXECUTION FLORIDA Tale of the Tape: Should a Lawyer Videotape the Execution of a Will? I am frequently asked by probate administration attorneys whether they should make a video recording of a will execution in cases where they anticipate there will be probate litigation involving a will contest after the testator’s death. While video recording generally is considered relevant evidence in a trial involving allegations of undue influence and testamentary capacity, I have experience mixed results from the use of these recordings. This is due primarily to the elementary psychological precept that different people perceive the same stimuli and arrive at quite different conclusions. Nevertheless, there are a few fundamental rules to keep in mind when a probate administration attorney decides or is asked to video record a will execution for potential use in a later probate litigation trial. Discretion Remember that the ultimate decision of whether the video […]