There are times in which a family member will want to contest the will of a Tampa resident.
Too often, other people, including other family members, engage in underhanded tricks that in reality undermine what a person really wanted to do with his or her wealth after the person’s death.
A will contest is the right way to address this injustice when a will does not truly reflect what a person wanted.
However, it can be easy to think that disputes over a will are the only thing that can lead to estate litigation. Such is not the case.
Creditor claims can create legal trouble for a family
For example, an estate may find themselves in a dispute with the creditors of the person who died.
Any estate that goes through probate will have to give notice to any possible creditors of the person who died.
After notice, the general rule is that a creditor has three months to file a claim against the estate.
Once filed, many of these claims will be obviously valid. In these cases, the personal representative will ultimately have to pay them before distributing assets.
However, other claims will be disputable. In some cases, the estate may disagree that it owes money at all. In other cases, there may be a dispute over the amount.
In these situations, litigation may be necessary. Once the personal representative timely objects to the claim, the Florida court system will likely have to decide the dispute unless the creditor and the estate can work out a solution.
The estate, or an individual creditor, may want to have an attorney’s assistance with prosecuting or defending against a claim for payment.
