Often, all that is necessary to determine whether these requirements were met is to review the will and depose relevant witnesses. Lack of capacity: Under Florida law, a testator must have the requisite mental competency to create a will, to understand the nature of his or her assets, and to understand where and how the assets will be distributed. If a person can prove that a testator lacked capacity, the court has the ability to declare it void.
There are many ways to prove a lack of capacity in Florida. In addition, a party may present witness testimony to the court that demonstrates the testator was behaving irrationally around the time the will was executed. Undue influence: Undue influence refers to a situation where a testator is coerced or compelled to execute a will due to improper pressure exerted on him or her. Often, this is done by a friend, relative, trusted advisor, or health care worker. In many cases, such influence results in changes to a long-established estate plan where most of the estate was to pass to close relatives of the deceased.
Often, undue influencers are new acquaintances or friends who befriend a testator in the last months or years of his or her life, typically after a decline in mental and physical ability.
In other cases, a child of the decedent coerces the decedent to write his or her siblings out of the will. In addition, health care workers or aides sometimes threaten to withhold care from a person unless he or she updates a will for the benefit of the health care worker.
Insane delusion: Insane delusion occurs when a person who makes a will, against all evidence to the contrary, has a false belief and creates or changes his or her will based on the insane delusion.
For example, a testator may believe that he or she has been abandoned by a child and disinherits the child as a result. However, if the child visits his or her parent every day, this could result in the will being set aside by the court on a basis of insane delusion.
For example, a child could tell his or her parent lies about a sibling such as that the sibling engaged in immoral or illegal acts, was convicted of a crime, or said derogatory things about the testator. If a testator executes or amends his or her will based on fraud, the will can be challenged in court via a will contest.
A trust can help you ensure that your inheritance stays in your family your children or grandchildren will not lose it to their spouse in the event of divorce. Also, you can create a trust to ensure that your heirs will not be given access to your money if they have a drug, alcohol, or gambling addiction.
Call at to receive a free consultation. Close Menu. Menu Call Email Visit Search. When can you disinherit your spouse or children? Under Section The only legal way to completely disinherit your spouse in Florida is by signing a prenuptial agreement prenup or post-nuptial agreement in which the spouse explicitly waives their right to inherit from you upon your death. Minor children. If you leave any sum of money, the law allows that child to automatically receive legal rights to information about the estate.
Should a court representative not obtain a receipt, there must be a note filed with the court registry. This is so the beneficiary can receive it later. All this leads to delays, stress, and additional costs for your trustee or personal representative.
Sometimes, you may wish to leave your estranged child only a modest sum of money. In such cases, the court recommends you exclude the child under the will as a beneficiary. Instead, you should name him or her as a designated beneficiary of one specific asset. This may be an account payable on your death by your bank to your chosen beneficiary. This will ensure you keep the estate and your trustee or personal representative out of this process.
No-contest clauses state that any beneficiary challenging the estate receives nothing. Sadly, while this is sometimes viable in different states, no-contest clauses are unenforceable in Florida.
To find out more about your legal obligations when disinheriting a child, consult a last will and testament lawyer. Our team is on hand to answer your questions and offer you guidance.
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