Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida
Mother died, will possibly invalid
My mother recently passed away in Florida. She had been diagnosed with cancer in Sept. 2003. After several treatments she was advised that she was terminal and was given 6 months. She was given strong pain medication and antidepressants. After so time she stopped taking the antidepressant and started acting irrational. My grandfather passed away in January leaving a sizable estate that she is to share in. On January 27th my mother made a will leaving everything to her husband (not my father) and wrote off all 5 of her children. The will was written and notarized in Illinois before she returned to Florida. She advised her husband not to call any of her children when she died and we didnt find out about it until my brother called her on Mothers Day. As yet the will has not been filed in Sarasota County. I believe I have read that it must be filed within 10 days of the date of death. My siblings and I would like to pursue challenging this will if we have a case as we feel that the pain medication and not taking the antidepressants have had an impact on her will. Do we stand a chance.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Mother died, will possibly invalid
Having been in many will contests, I concur with Marie-Anne. Testamentary capacity to make a Will is very minimal. All one needs to show is that they know the nature of their assets, their natural objects of bounty and what they want to do. You describe a situation that is not uncommon, and should be pursued. However, you do not state what the relationship was between the children and your mother. Were any of you estranged from her? Were you at least mentioned in the Will, even if only left $1.00 each? The Will, when probated, is a public document and you can get a copy by contacting the Surrogate's Office where probated. You will have some time (usually 4 months) to file a contest. There are many grounds to attack it, as Marie-Anne stated. I suggest getting Mom's most recent medical records, if you can, as they bear on her mental capacity. Also, if you can get people who saw her shortly before she died, they may be able to give you information on her mental condition. There are a lot more questions, but I suggest you get a Florida attorney, familiar with contesting Wills, and have him/her review the facts and file the necessary documents to freeze the estate and contest the Will.
Re: Mother died, will possibly invalid
Testamentary capacity requires very little "capacity." Because your mother may have been depressed does not mean that she did not have the legal capacity to execute a valid will. Unless you can prove that she did not understand what she was gifting and to whom, or you can show duress, fraud, or undue influence, you do not have grounds to challenge this will.
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