Contested Wills in Cape Coral, Florida

Find the right Contested Wills attorney in Cape Coral, FL

In Cape Coral, Florida, there is a procedure through which a person can challenge the validity of a will. This is identified as a "contested will" or "will contest."

Sometimes, testators leave out of their wills people who might naturally expect to inherit a substantial portion of the testator's estate (spouses and children, for example). This might lead them to assume, truthfully or not, that the will was some kind of mistake.

If the decedent was fairly well-off, their will might involve a great deal of money or property. This is one of the basic reasons, besides a general sense of exclusion, that a family member might expend the great deal of time and money necessary to contest a will.

Bringing legal action against anyone, let alone a family member, is not a decision that you should rush into. Contesting a will, especially if another family member stands to lose out if you are successful in the contest, can permanently alter or even destroy family relationships. Obviously, this is something to consider.

When Can a Will be Contested in Cape Coral, Florida?

Courts in Cape Coral, Florida will not let a person contest a will unless they have an excellent reason. There are, however, some allegations which will always invalidate a will, if they are proven.

For example, if the will was obtained through duress (threat of some kind of harm), then it is invalid. Duress, however, is difficult to prove. If a named beneficiary was in some position of power or trust with the decedent, and is not someone who one would ordinarily expect to get a large gift in a will, that might raise substantial initial suspicion of something improper happening. Of course, those facts alone are not nearly enough to prove duress.

Because a testator must know what they are doing in order to write a valid will, the testator must be of sound mind at the time the will is made. Basically, if a person is unaware of what they're doing, and the consequences of their actions, they can't make a valid will. This can be due to mental illness, or intoxication. Of course, if it's a result of intoxication, the testator can simply sober up and then make a perfectly valid will.

If you successfully contest the will in Cape Coral, Florida, the court will likely distribute the property as if the decedent had died without a will. This usually involves giving it to the closest living relative. While the exact intestacy schemes (the order in which property is distributed to relatives) vary from state to state, they are usually pretty similar. If possible, the property will go to the decedent's spouse, and if the decedent has any minor children with that spouse, it is with the understanding that the money will be used primarily for their care. If the decedent did not have children or a spouse (or outlived them), the property typically goes to the decedent's parents. If neither of them are alive, it goes to grand children, grandparents, or siblings. After that, it typically goes to cousins, nieces/nephews, step-children, former spouses, etc. Intestacy laws provide a line of succession long enough that just about anyone will leave at least one person behind who is entitled to inherit from them, even if they're an extremely distant relation. Sometimes, however, people make multiple wills, to account for the many personal and financial changes that typically happen during a person's life. Typically, the most recent will purports to revoke all past wills, to avoid any conflict between them. In such cases, if a will is entirely invalidated, a court can sometimes revive the second most recent will.

Can a Cape Coral, Florida Contested Will Attorney Help?

Because a will contest can sometimes involve perplexing legal and factual questions, as well as some very raw emotions, a skilled Cape Coral, Florida attorney can be invaluable in helping this process go as smoothly as possible.

Talk to a Wills, Trusts & Estates Law Attorney now!

Life in Cape Coral

Cape Coral, Florida is a city in Lee County, Florida. It has a population of approximately 155,000 people.

The city of Cape Coral, Florida was founded in 1957. Development of the area continued through the 1960s. Cape Coral saw a major addition with the construction of the Cape Coral Bridge, which is about 1 kilometer long. This reduced the drive time between Cape Coral and nearby Fort Myers from over half an hour to just a few minutes.

This allows the professionals who reside in Cape Coral, Florida, such as doctors, accountants, and lawyers, to shorten their commutes to the larger cities in the surrounding area, turning Cape Coral into a quiet residential community.

The economy of Cape Coral, Florida is largely dominated by city government, healthcare, and services. All of these industries employ large numbers of administrative personnel, such as lawyers.

If you live in or around Cape Coral, Florida, and need an attorney, it's very likely that there's a Cape Coral, Florida lawyer who can help you with whatever legal issue you might face.

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