Blocked From Your Inheritance? Talk With a Florida Probate Litigation Attorney

Short answer: when can a Florida beneficiary sue someone who blocked an inheritance?

Yes, in many situations. A beneficiary or heir may have a claim when someone interferes with an expected gift, when a personal representative or trustee doesn’t follow the governing documents, or when a will or trust is challenged.

Whether you can sue depends on the facts. Three questions drive the answer:

• What document governs the estate or trust: a will, a revocable trust, or an amendment?
• What did the person do, or refuse to do?
• Did that person owe you a legal duty, such as a duty owed by a personal representative or trustee?

This guide is written for adult children, relatives and others named in a will or trust. It also helps people acting for a family member’s estate or trust. If a distribution is stalled and you don’t know your options, you’re in a stressful spot. Reading this is a sensible first step.

What “blocking an inheritance” looks like in practice

Blocking usually means money or property you expect is held back, delayed or moved. Common patterns include:

• A personal representative (often called an executor) who won’t open the estate, share information or act.
• A trustee who refuses a distribution the trust requires or, on reasonable request, won’t provide a qualified beneficiary with a complete copy of the trust instrument.
• Property, records or accounts that are withheld or never explained.
• A will, trust or amendment that may have been forged, altered or shaped by someone who took advantage of the person who signed it.

Each pattern can call for a different claim, so the documents and the conduct matter more than the label. Florida law says a will is void if fraud, duress, mistake or undue influence procured its execution. § 732.5165

The claims a beneficiary or heir can bring in Florida

Most of these claims ask a court to review the document, require an accounting, or remove the person in charge.

• Will contest. A challenge that the will was procured by fraud, duress, mistake or undue influence. The proponent must first establish formal execution and attestation. After that, the contestant must prove the grounds. § 733.107
• Information and accounting. A trustee must keep qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed. On reasonable request, the trustee must provide a complete copy of the trust instrument. § 736.0813
• Removal. A court may remove a personal representative for failing to account for property sales or for wasting or maladministering the estate.

Disputes can arise when someone’s conduct appears to affect what a beneficiary expected to receive from an estate or trust.

Deadlines that often control timing

Some Florida deadlines are short, so waiting can end a claim. Act early and track every date.

• Will objections. After you’re served a notice of administration, you must object within 3 months to the will’s validity, the venue or the court’s jurisdiction. Otherwise, those objections are forever barred. The 3-month period can be extended only for estoppel based on a personal representative’s misstatement about that period. § 733.212
• Outer limit. Those objections must be filed no later than the earlier of the final discharge order or 1 year after service of the notice. Exempt property runs on a separate clock from objections to the will, venue or jurisdiction: a person who may be entitled to exempt property under § 732.402 is treated as having given up the right to claim it as exempt unless a petition for determination of exempt property is filed by that person or on their behalf by the later of 4 months after service of a copy of the notice of administration on them or 40 days after the termination of any proceeding involving the construction, admission to probate, or validity of the will, or involving any other matter affecting any part of the exempt property, as § 733.212 requires the notice of administration to state. § 733.212
• Trust contests. For a trust that was revocable at the settlor’s death, the contest is barred if not started within the earlier of the chapter 95 time or six months after the trustee sends a copy of the trust instrument and a notice. § 736.0604
• Timing of revocable trust contests. A contest can’t start until the trust becomes irrevocable by its terms or by the settlor’s death. § 736.0207

Keep every notice, letter, statement and email, because they may help show key dates. A contest of a revocable trust may not be commenced until the trust becomes irrevocable by its terms or by the settlor’s death. This does not prohibit such action by the guardian of the property of an incapacitated settlor. § 736.0207

What the trust and estate litigation service covers

The service covers the path from document review to court, when an agreement can’t resolve the dispute. Its scope includes:

• Review of the will, trust, amendments, beneficiary designations and estate or trust records to find the claims and the parties.
• Written demands for information, an accounting or a distribution, plus letters asking that records be preserved.
• Petitions in the proper Florida court for removal, accounting, and will or trust contests.
• Discovery, depositions and motions, followed by mediation, settlement talks or trial.
• Representation of beneficiaries, heirs and fiduciaries. Trust Counsel’s attorneys can serve individually as trustee or personal representative, and the firm advises and represents trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries.

How the process works, step by step

The process starts with a conversation. It then moves to documents, written demands and, only if needed, court.

1. Free first consultation. You describe what happened. The first consultation is a free, confidential first consultation with no obligation to continue.
2. Document and deadline review. The governing documents and the deadlines that may apply are identified.
3. Demand and preservation letters. Written requests go out for information, an accounting or a distribution, and for records to be kept.
4. Filing and service. If needed, a petition is filed in the proper Florida court, and interested parties are served.
5. Discovery, mediation or trial. Each stage follows the court’s schedule. Timing also varies with the number of parties and whether the dispute settles.

Why Trust Counsel for an inheritance dispute

Trust Counsel focuses on trust and estate matters for beneficiaries, heirs and fiduciaries. The firm works in probate litigation, trust litigation, trust administration, guardianship, estate planning, estate tax planning, business succession and asset protection.

• The firm’s only office is in Coral Gables.
• We serve clients in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Doral, Kendall, Pinecrest, Key Biscayne and Aventura.
• Leslie V. Marenco is the responsible lawyer for this page. Tanya Vega is also a lawyer at the firm.
• Support staff assist the attorneys and help keep documents and deadlines organized.

The firm’s work centers on the documents, notices and deadlines that shape these disputes.

Frequently asked questions