• 31
  • August
    2010

Florida contested will attorneys will tell you that the loss of a family member doesn't always bring out feelings of loss for the deceased relative. Sometimes it brings out feelings of loss for an inheritance that does not appear.

With the economy in the bad shape it is in, more people are going to court to fight for what they think is their fair share of the estate.

One probate judge has four ongoing contested will cases where in the past he wouldn't see more than one at a time. "I'm attributing it to the economy," he said. 

One expert has observed that with unemployment benefits expiring and rates of unemployment staying sky-high, more cash-strapped people are looking at wills as an income source.

In any case, there is no guaranteed victory for the party challenging the existing will, according to will contest lawyers who have handled both sides of such cases.

One of the primary grounds on which wills are contested is undue influence, where someone supposedly had an unfair influence on how a will was written.

An additional ground for contested will cases is that the person didn't completely understand what they were doing when they wrote their will.

"When the economy gets weaker," one expert said, "people become more interested in where the money is going."

Source: CT Law Tribune "Where There's A Will, There's A Way - To Object" August 23, 2010