Florida attorney L. Reed Bloodworth, Founder and CEO of Bloodworth Law said that a person lacks capacity to execute a will or a trust if they do not have the ability to understand what they owe in assets and comprehend to whom those assets will go.
A lack of capacity is the absence of mental capacity at the time that a will was executed and can be cause for disputing a will in Florida.
A safeguard against having people who lack testamentary capacity from making or signing wills is ensuring the presence of a lawyer in the will drafting and execution process.
When it comes to a will if someone has a lack of mental capacity they do not have the ability to understand what it is that they’re signing.
A lack of capacity is grounds for challenging the validity of a will based on the diminished mental capacity of the person making the will.
This problem is seen more often when the transfer of wealth takes place between World War II and Baby Boomer generations. But, it can occur in any instance where dementia, illness, heavy medication is involved in the signing of legal documents.
Usually, a beneficiary finds out that there is something wrong or missing from their will. Often times they feel in their gut that the will was signed by someone who is not 100% mentally.
The grantor may have had surgery, may have diminished mental capacity from Alzheimer’s or from dementia or may be affected by medication that they’re taking.
You can try to prove a lack of capacity using medical records and testimony of the people who were familiar with the decedent.
If someone you know suddenly changed a will to what you believe was the opposite of what you know them to want, you should talk to an attorney, quickly.
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