Contesting a Will in Florida: Who Can Challenge, the Grounds, and the Deadlines

Few legal documents carry more weight than a will, and few discoveries land harder than learning that a parent's or spouse's final document says something nobody expected. Sometimes the surprise is legitimate. But sometimes the document is the product of a failing mind, pressure from someone who stood to benefit, or a signing that never met Florida's requirements. Florida law allows those wills, and the trusts that increasingly replace them, to be challenged.

What most families do not realize is how little time the law gives them. A will contest in Florida runs on some of the shortest deadlines in civil litigation, and they are enforced without sympathy. Understanding who can challenge, on what grounds, and by when is the difference between a real case and a barred one.

Who has standing to contest a will?

Not everyone who is unhappy with a will can challenge it. Florida limits contests to interested persons: people whose financial stake changes depending on whether the will stands. That usually means beneficiaries under an earlier will who were cut out or cut down, and family members who would inherit under Florida's intestacy rules if the will fell. A disappointed friend or a relative who would take nothing either way generally has no standing. Standing can extend to fiduciaries named under earlier documents and to spouses asserting rights the final will ignores.

Can you contest a will before the person dies?

No. Florida law is explicit that a will cannot be challenged during the maker's lifetime, however troubling the circumstances. A parent can sign a new will under obvious pressure, and the family can do nothing formal about it until after death. What families can do in the meantime is preserve evidence: keep earlier documents, note dates and behavior changes, and where warranted consider a guardianship to protect a person who can no longer protect themselves.

What are the grounds for a contest?

Florida courts recognize a handful of grounds, and most contests combine more than one. Improper execution: a Florida will must be signed by the maker at the end and witnessed by two people who sign in the maker's presence and in each other's; a document that misses those formalities fails regardless of intent. Lack of testamentary capacity: the maker must have understood, at the moment of signing, the nature of the act, the property involved, and the natural objects of their bounty. Undue influence: someone in a position of trust overcame the maker's free will, a ground so common it has its own burden-shifting presumption. Fraud and duress round out the list: a will procured by lies about its contents, or by threats, fails. Florida also recognizes challenges based on an insane delusion, a fixed false belief about a family member, for example, that directly shaped the document.

How long do you have?

This is where contests are lost. Once probate opens, the personal representative serves a formal notice of administration on interested persons. From the date of service, Florida Statutes section 733.212 gives you three months to file an objection to the will's validity, and objections not filed in time are, in the statute's own words, forever barred. Courts extend the period in one narrow situation only: when the personal representative misstated the deadline itself. There is also an outer limit, the earlier of one year after service or the personal representative's discharge; and if you receive formal notice of the petition before the will is admitted, the window can shrink to days. The practical rule: if a probate notice arrives and anything about the will troubles you, the clock is already running.

Can you contest a trust on the same grounds?

Largely, yes. Revocable trusts now sit at the center of many Florida estate plans, and the law treats them accordingly: a trust can be challenged for lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, or improper execution, and the capacity required to create a revocable trust is the same as for a will. Two differences matter. Procedure: a trust contest is a civil lawsuit in circuit court rather than an objection filed in the probate case. Timing: no one can challenge a revocable trust while its maker is alive, and after death the deadline is the earlier of four years or, if the trustee serves the trust document with a formal notice, six months from that notice. Trustees who want finality serve it early, so the window is often as short as a will's.

Do no-contest clauses stop a challenge?

Many wills include a clause disinheriting anyone who challenges the document, and many would-be challengers stay silent out of fear of it. In Florida that fear is misplaced. The Legislature has declared no-contest clauses in wills unenforceable, and the same rule applies to trusts. A Florida court will not strip a beneficiary's inheritance for bringing a challenge, even one that fails.

What happens if the contest succeeds?

Invalidating a will does not send the estate into a void. If the maker signed a valid earlier will, that document generally governs, which is why prior wills are often the most important evidence in a contest. If no earlier valid will exists, the estate passes under Florida's intestacy statutes to the closest relatives. A contest can also succeed in part: a court can strike a tainted amendment or gift while leaving the rest of the plan intact. Settlement is common as well: many contests end in mediated family agreements that probate courts routinely approve.

What evidence decides these cases?

Contests are built from records and witnesses. Medical records around the signing date speak to capacity. The drafting attorney's file shows who arranged the will, who communicated the instructions, and who was in the room. Prior wills establish the pattern the final document broke. Bank and phone records and the testimony of caregivers and family fill in who had access and influence in the final months. Depositions of the attesting witnesses and notary often decide execution challenges. Because much of this evidence fades, the three-month window is not just a filing deadline; it is the investigation period.

Salomon Smith PLLC handles will and trust contests and estate litigation across South Florida. If a probate or trust notice has arrived and the document does not reflect the person you knew, call (305) 297-1018 for a free consultation, or learn more about our practice areas.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice.