Contested Wills in Deltona, Florida

Find the right Contested Wills attorney in Deltona, FL

In Deltona, Florida, there is a process through which a person can challenge the validity of a will. This is recognized as a "contested will" or "will contest."

Occasionally, testators leave out of their wills people who might naturally expect to inherit a considerable portion of the testator's estate (spouses and children, for instance). 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 general 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.

You should remember that a will contest commonly results in adversarial legal proceedings, which can be very combative. Considering the likelihood that other members of your family might be on the other side, it's clear that this can really damage a person's relationship with his or her family.

When Can a Will be Contested in Deltona, Florida?

There are many reasons that a court in Deltona, Florida might invalidate a will.

For instance, a will obtained through duress (a threat of harm, normally physical) is invalid. Of course, duress is very difficult to prove after the fact, and the issue may not even come up until many years after it allegedly occurred, making proof even more difficult. Nonetheless, if the named beneficiary was in some type of position of power or trust with respect to the decedent, and is not someone who one would normally expect to get a large gift in a will (they're unrelated to the testator, for example), those facts alone might be enough to raise the suspicion of impropriety. Of course, those facts by themselves are not enough to prove duress.

Another thing to consider is the mental capacity of the person making the will. If, at the time the will was made, the testator was insane or heavily intoxicated, the will is likely to be held invalid by a court, if the underlying facts can be shown.

So, you've succeeded in contesting the validity of a Deltona, Florida will. What happens to the property that was going to be distributed according to its terms? Typically, when a will is declared void, the decedent's assets will be treated as if he or she had died without a will. This is known as "intestacy." Normally, this simply means that the assets will be passed on to their owner's closest living relative, usually a spouse, children, siblings, or parents. If absolutely no relatives can be found, the property is passed to the state. If there is a previous will, which was revoked by the invalid will, a court might revive the old will. If the new will was found to be completely invalid (rather than just parts of it), it follows, then, that the revocation of the old will is invalid as well. Thus, the old will can be given effect.

Can a Deltona, 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 Deltona, 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 Deltona

Deltona is Florida's twenty-ninth largest city with a population of about 85,182 people.

Common industries include retlai trade, manufacturing and construction. Many residents commute to surrounding cities for work. Similarly, residents look to surrounding communities for their legal needs. The surrounding areas of Deltona, such as DeBary and Lake Monroe, are filled with many law offices and small firms that train excellent attorneys to handle residents' legal needs.

Deltona is also famous for its beautiful parks. Popular parks include Tom Hoffman Park, Campbell Park, and the Lake Monroe Boat Ramp. These parks include open areas for kids to play, butterfly gardens, walking trails, volleyball courts, tennis courts, picnic areas, gazebos, shuffle board courts and boat docks. These parks offer residents a great place to cool off from Deltona's humid climate.

Overall, Deltona is a small community that offers its residents beautiful naturist spots and unity.

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