Experienced Probate Litigation Attorney For Will Contests Or Other Disputes

Before the terms of a will can be given effect, the document must be submitted to probate, the court-supervised process for settling an estate and making distributions as directed by a will. Sometimes, however, there is more than one will in existence or the will admitted to probate has clearly been amended several times by hand. In these cases, which will or will provisions should be given effect, or is there any valid will to be probated at all?

Such questions must often be litigated in probate court and decided by the judge based on the evidence and arguments given by the parties’ attorneys. Charles T. Weiss, P.A., provides effective representation across the spectrum of probate litigation, including:

• Will contests
• Trust contests
• Breach of fiduciary claims
• Disputes over the management of the estate
• Disputes over an accounting of the estate
• Inter-family disputes

Effective Advocacy In All Types Of Will Contests

A challenge to the validity of a will may arise in many ways. For instance, an individual may challenge a will when he or she would receive more of the estate through an older will that had been replaced by the will presented for probate. Or perhaps the individual would fare better under Florida’s rules of intestate succession if the will is declared invalid and there is no valid will at all.

Will challenges can be based on a number of factors, including allegations such as:

• Lack of testamentary capacity to make a will
• The presence of fraud, coercion or undue influence in making the will
• The will was improperly witnessed or executed
• A mistake was made in the making of the will

Interfamily disputes are a frequent source of probate litigation, particularly in cases where there has been a second marriage, and children from the first marriage find themselves at odds with children from the second marriage or with the stepparent. Even in single-marriage situations, a child or other potential heir may be disinherited or receive a smaller share than his or her siblings or others similarly situated.

At Charles T. Weiss, P.A., we represent heirs and beneficiaries, including omitted heirs, in will challenges as well as other parties to probate litigation, including:

• Executors
• Administrators
• Personal representatives
• Trustees
• Conservators
• Guardian

Litigation Attorney With A Record Of Success

For sound advice and professional representation in any probate litigation matter in Palm Beach or Broward County and throughout South Florida, call Charles T. Weiss, P.A., at 561-848-9970, or send an email.