Trust and Estate Litigation Attorneys in Florida
TRUST & ESTATE LITIGATION
Contested wills and trusts, undue influence, trustee self-dealing, elder financial exploitation. Speak directly with a trust litigation lawyer.
Trial attorneys · 60+ years combined experience · Free initial consultation
Serving Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and courts across Florida. Our practice focuses on substantial estate and trust disputes.
Tell us about the estate or trust
Estate disputes reward early action: objection deadlines run from service of the notice of administration, trust contests close six months after the trustee’s notice, and evidence disappears as accounts are emptied. Call or send the form, and a trust dispute attorney reviews the facts and gives you an honest read on your position. No pressure, no obligation.
A direct conversation with an attorney, not an intake screener.
A straight answer on whether you have a case worth pursuing.
Clear next steps and a fee structure before you commit to anything.
Prefer to talk now? Call (305) 297-1018
Free consultation
Tell us briefly about your dispute. Your message goes directly to an attorney.
Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not include confidential details; a brief description is enough.
Deadlines and statutes that decide these cases
To object to a will after the notice of administration is served. Section 733.212, Florida Statutes.
3 months
To contest a trust that was revocable at death, after the trustee sends the trust and notice. Section 736.0604.
6 months
Civil theft recovery for exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult, plus attorney’s fees. Section 772.11.
3x damages
Florida presumes undue influence when a confidential relationship and active procurement are shown. Section 733.107.
Burden shifts
Deadlines depend on the facts and on what has been served. Have yours reviewed early.
Estate and trust disputes we litigate
Our trust litigation attorneys and estate dispute lawyers handle five kinds of disputes. If yours sits between categories, call anyway; most do.
Will & Trust Contests
A late change to a will or trust that cut out family or favored a caregiver, neighbor or new spouse. We challenge documents procured by undue influence, fraud, duress or mistake, or signed without capacity or the formalities Florida requires.
Florida shifts the burden of proof to the beneficiary when a confidential relationship and active procurement are shown. Our undue influence attorneys build these cases from medical records, drafting files, financial records and testimony.
Undue Influence & Capacity
Trustee self-dealing, withheld information, ignored trust terms or mismanaged assets. Our trustee misconduct lawyers pursue trustee removal, compelled accountings, surcharge and recovery.
Trustee Misconduct
Our inheritance dispute lawyers handle disputes among siblings, beneficiaries and heirs over distributions, jointly titled accounts, beneficiary designations and property that passed the wrong way.
Inheritance Disputes
A caregiver, relative, agent or advisor took advantage of an elderly or vulnerable adult and took money or property. Our elder exploitation attorneys pursue civil recovery, including the treble damages Florida allows.
Elder Financial Exploitation
Not sure where your situation fits? Tell us what happened with the estate or trust and an attorney will tell you where it stands.
How we work
You work with the attorney handling your case, from the first call through resolution. No layers between you and the person doing the work.
Direct attorney access
Daniel S. Smith has litigated Florida business disputes for over a decade, backed by Jose Smith’s five decades of trial experience as Of Counsel.
60+ years combined
If a case is not worth pursuing, we tell you. Strategy is built around the outcome that makes sense for you and your family, not around the fight itself.
Honest assessments
From demand letter through trial and appeal, your case stays with your attorney. Nothing gets handed off.
Handled start to finish
What happens when you call
Call (305) 297-1018 or send the form. Your details go straight to an attorney, day or night.
1
Reach Out
We review the will or trust, the notices and the records, then give you a candid read on your options.
2
Free Consultation
If we move forward together, you approve the strategy and the fee structure before anything is filed.
3
A Clear Plan
Trust and estate questions, answered
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If you were served a notice of administration, three months from service. If the estate has not been opened yet, the deadline is not running, but evidence and witnesses disappear quickly, so early review matters.
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Pressure that overcomes the free will of the person making the will or trust. Florida presumes it when a substantial beneficiary had a confidential relationship with the decedent and was active in arranging the document, which shifts the burden of proof to that beneficiary.
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Yes. A court can remove a trustee for a serious breach of trust, a conflict of interest, failure to administer the trust effectively, or when removal serves the beneficiaries and the trust’s purposes. Beneficiaries can also compel an accounting first.
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The money or property taken, and under Florida’s civil theft statute, three times the actual damages plus attorney’s fees and costs, after a written demand gives the wrongdoer thirty days to return what was taken.
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Yes. The firm represents clients in trust and estate litigation throughout Florida.
Get a straight answer on your position and your options. Free consultation with a Florida trust dispute lawyer, day or night.