Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog
Often before the death, a spouse or someone else in control of assets attempts to rearrange the assets so that it will benefit them and in doing so it can interfere with the desires of the decedent.
In these situations, the prospective beneficiaries who have been damaged have the right to bring a cause of action against the person who manipulated the decedent’s assets.
Some examples of this type of activity include cashing out insurance policies, paying bills our of one account but not another, removing funds from one account and transferring them to another in which they are the beneficiary. Selling or disposing of assets that would go to one beneficiary and converting them to cash what is distributed in another manner.
In a recent appeal over this issue it was made clear that it is not enough to have shown that someone engaged in this type of wrongful activity, but also must provide legally admissible evidence of the damage that was caused to the beneficiaries. Failure to show damages, a required element of the claim, subjected the case to a directed verdict and final judgment of dismissal.
If you are considering a claims against someone who has interfered with your expectancy, you should contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer who understands the elements of the cause of action as well as the ability to gather and introduce legally admissible evidence.