Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Florida
My mother recently passed away. She lived in Florida and her will left clear instructions that her estate was to be split evenly among her five adult offspring. However, she also told me alone (there were no witnesses) that she wanted my brother to receive a larger portion of the estate. I have discussed this with my siblings and we all agree that my mother's verbal request was fair and that we should comply with it. Can we do so? That is, can we simply choose to deviate from the instructions written in the will? Would it be wiser to distribute the estate in accordance with the will and then use some other mechanism (for example, gifting) to comply with my mother's verbal request?
3 Answers from Attorneys
If you all agree, you can prepare a written agreement to be signed by all before a notary and filed with the probate court.
Depending on the circumstances, either way would work; so long as none of you are giving him more than the federal gift tax exclusion ($12,000 per person) then you can split evenly and then funnel him money; or you can do an agreement regarding distribution and file it with court.
Seek some legal help to make sure you each dont have unintended consequences, like some taxation issue. It should not be difficult to have Mom's wishes honored. Sorry for your loss.
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