Think a Parent's Will Was Changed Improperly? Talk to a Florida Probate Litigation Attorney

Short answer: can you sue the person who influenced the change?

Families who have concerns about how a parent’s will was changed can discuss the facts of their situation with Leslie V. Marenco of Trust Counsel, PL in a free, confidential first consultation, with no obligation to continue. A claim against the person who interfered has its own proof requirements and time limits, and whether a particular claim is available depends on the facts.

Leslie V. Marenco is the responsible lawyer for this page. Matters like this would be handled from the firm’s Coral Gables office.

Two different routes: challenging the will and suing the person

A will contest asks the probate court to set aside the document. The question is whether the will itself is valid. The court looks at how the will was signed and what led to the signing.

A claim against the individual asks for money. It targets the person who used wrongful means to change the plan. The defendant is a person, not the paper.

They still turn on different questions. One asks whether the will stands. The other asks whether one person’s conduct caused the heir’s loss.

Timing separates them too. A will contest cannot start while the parent is alive. Florida law says an action to contest a will “may not be commenced before the death of the testator” under Fla. Stat. § 732.518. The route you choose also affects who must be named and what you must prove.

Undue influence and fraud in a will contest under Florida law

Florida law says a will is void if its signing was procured by fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence (Fla. Stat. § 732.5165). If only part of a will was procured that way, that part is void. The rest can survive if it is valid for other reasons. The same rule applies to a revocation.

Undue influence, in plain terms, means someone’s pressure overpowered the parent’s own free choice. The parent signed what another person wanted, not what the parent wanted. Proof usually comes from the whole picture around the signing, not from a single moment.

The contest runs through the probate court. The proponent, the person offering the will, must first prove it was formally signed and witnessed. After that, the contestant must prove the grounds for the challenge (Fla. Stat. § 733.107).

Florida also has a presumption of undue influence. The statute says it guards against abuse of fiduciary or confidential relationships. When the presumption applies, it shifts the burden of proof (Fla. Stat. § 733.107). That shift can matter a great deal in a contest.

A will contest asks the court to set the document aside. That is a different request from money damages against the person who did the influencing. Keep the two requests apart when you plan the case.

Suing the person who interfered: a separate civil claim

A lawsuit against the person who interfered is a civil claim for money damages. Heirs sometimes call it interference with an expected inheritance. It is a separate case from the will contest.

What the heir must prove turns on the facts and on Florida case law. The heart of the case is loss. The heir has to connect the interference to a real financial loss. A changed document alone does not show that loss.

The facts about the other person’s role matter most. Courts will want to know what that person said, what they did, and how they took part in the change. Written messages, calendars, and witness accounts often answer those questions.

Heirs should not assume this claim stays open indefinitely. The timing rules in the sections below apply to the different routes.

Evidence that matters in these disputes

The most useful evidence shows a clear timeline and the people around the signing. Start by gathering the following:

• Dates of each earlier and later document, and any reason given for each change.
• Who arranged the meeting, who attended the signing, and who drafted or carried the papers.
• The parent’s health and mental condition near the signing, backed by medical records.
• Messages, calls, or emails that show isolation, pressure, or secrecy.
• Witness accounts from people who saw the parent before and after the change.

Preserve phone messages, bank records, and calendars now. Records can be lost or changed over time, and waiting can make proof harder.

In probate cases, Florida’s civil discovery rules apply. Those rules include depositions, written questions, document requests, requests for admission, interrogatories, and other discovery tools, such as examination of persons, subpoenas, and sanctions for failure to make discovery (Florida Probate Rule 5.080). To conserve estate assets, the court may limit discovery and may charge its costs, including attorneys’ fees, to the party seeking the discovery, to one or more beneficiaries, or to the ward, in proportions the court sets based in part on the benefit the discovery produced.

Deadlines, procedure and the role of mediation

The deadlines are short, and they run on different clocks. Don’t assume the time is open-ended.

• Caveat before death. A caveat filed before the parent dies expires 2 years after filing (Fla. Stat. § 731.110). Once an interested person other than a creditor files one, the court may not admit the will or appoint a personal representative until formal notice is served on the caveator or the caveator’s designated agent and the caveator has had the opportunity to participate (Fla. Stat. § 731.110).
• Delay. Laches can bar a claim. Laches is an equitable defense that can bar a claim when a party unreasonably delays bringing it.

Mediation is another step to plan for. Mediation can resolve a case in whole or in part.

Estate disputes can also reach the court during administration. If a will was torn, burned, or revoked, the analysis changes. A revocation procured by fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence is void under Fla. Stat. § 732.5165.

Talk with Trust Counsel about your situation

If your parent recently changed a will or beneficiary designation in favor of someone who helped with the paperwork, your share may now look smaller than you expected. The deadlines above make timing a question to raise early.

Trust Counsel, PL’s Coral Gables office offers a free first consultation. It is confidential and carries no obligation to continue. Call (305) 707-7126 or schedule online.

Quick answers

Can an heir sue someone who influenced a parent’s will in Florida?