Who Can Sue Over a Trust or an Estate?

Orlando Florida Lawyer L. Reed Bloodworth, Trust & Estate litigation attorney, explains who can sue over a trust or an estate in a legal dispute.

Only a person or persons who are considered an interested person in a will dispute or trust dispute may bring a lawsuit to dispute that will or trust.

What is an Interested Person?

An interested person is someone who has an interest in the outcome of the administration of the estate or the trust assets. Often this person is someone who is a beneficiary under a prior version of a will or a trust or someone who should have been a beneficiary under a will or trust but for the actions of someone else who is now a beneficiary of that will or trust.

What is Tortious Interference with a Testamentary Expectancy?

Tortious interference with a testamentary expectancy is a cause of action a trust and estate litigator would bring in a lawsuit. It means that the person bringing the lawsuit expected to receive an inheritance via will or trust from the decedent and someone else’s actions has interfered with that expectancy. That interference could be a multitude of reasons. They could have taken the money out of the trust if they were the trustee and therefore it wasn’t received by the beneficiary. There are numerous other examples but that is the essence of what tortious interference with a testamentary expectancy is.

What is Lack of Capacity?

A person lacks capacity to execute a will or a trust when they lack the ability to comprehend all of their assets and to whom those assets are going.

Lack of capacity is something that is often an issue in a will or a trust dispute. You can prove lack of capacity or attempt to prove lack of capacity by the use of medical records and testimony of those who were around the decedent frequently. Think of it this way if someone lacks capacity they do not have the ability to understand what it is that they’re signing when it comes to a will or a trust.