By submitting this form, you authorize Avera & Smith to contact you regarding your potential case. Contacting us through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. See Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Are You Involved in a Will, Trust, or Inheritance Dispute? Our Florida Estate Law Attorneys Can Help.
Disputes over a will, trust, estate, or inheritance can be deeply personal and legally complex. Family relationships, financial interests, property ownership, and questions about a loved one’s true wishes can all collide at once, making an already difficult time even more stressful.
If you are involved in an estate dispute, you need an experienced attorney at your side. At Avera & Smith, our Florida estate law attorneys help individuals and families navigate these difficult disputes with skill, strategy, and compassion. We can help you understand your rights, protect your interests, and pursue the best possible outcome.
Call 352-372-9999 today to get started.
When Should I Contact a Florida Estate Law Attorney?
Florida’s Probate Code governs intestate succession and wills, and Florida law also provides certain rights for surviving spouses, including elective share rights. You should speak with an estate law attorney as soon as a dispute arises or you believe something may be wrong with the handling of a will, trust, estate, or inheritance.
Common warning signs include:
- A sudden or suspicious change to a will or trust
- Concerns that a loved one lacked mental capacity
- Suspected undue influence by a caregiver, relative, or beneficiary
- Missing estate assets
- Improper transfers before death
- Disputes over joint bank accounts
- Concerns about a trustee or personal representative
- Family disagreements over property or inheritance
Early legal guidance can help preserve evidence, clarify your rights, and prevent costly mistakes.
What Types of Estate Disputes Does Avera & Smith Handle?
For years, Avera & Smith’s experienced Florida estate law attorneys have helped individuals and families navigate complex estate, inheritance, trust, and probate disputes. Our Florida estate law attorneys have experience handling all types of estate disputes:
Trust Disputes
We help clients resolve disputes involving trust validity, trustee misconduct, breach of fiduciary duty, improper distributions, trust interpretation, and concerns involving undue influence or lack of capacity.
Will Disputes
Our attorneys represent individuals and families in will contests involving suspicious changes, questions about legal validity, fraud, improper execution, undue influence, and challenges to a loved one’s true intentions.
Disputed Estates
When conflicts arise during probate or estate administration, we help clients resolve disputes involving estate assets, property ownership, improper transfers, creditor claims, inheritance disagreements, and administration concerns.
Beneficiary Disputes
We assist beneficiaries facing disputes over distributions, favoritism, withheld information, trustee or personal representative actions, beneficiary rights, and conflicts between heirs or family members.
Why Contact Avera & Smith for an Estate Dispute?
Estate disputes can quickly become emotionally charged, legally complex, and financially significant. Whether you are questioning the validity of a will, concerned about a trustee’s actions, facing a family inheritance dispute, or trying to protect what a loved one intended, having experienced legal guidance matters. At Avera & Smith, we combine decades of experience with strategic advocacy to help clients resolve estate conflicts, protect their interests, and pursue fair outcomes during some of life’s most difficult moments.
Decades of Trusted Litigation Experience
For years our attorneys have helped individuals and families navigate complex estate, trust, probate, and inheritance disputes throughout Florida, bringing seasoned legal insight to even the most challenging matters.
Sophisticated Legal Strategy for Complex Disputes
Estate disputes often involve allegations of undue influence, capacity concerns, fiduciary misconduct, contested documents, and high-value property issues. Our attorneys understand how to investigate, build strong cases, and pursue effective legal solutions.
A Proven Commitment to Protecting What Matters Most
We understand that estate disputes are about more than assets. They involve family relationships, loved ones’ wishes, and financial security. Our team is committed to protecting your rights while pursuing practical, results-driven outcomes with professionalism and care.
Meet the Attorneys Who Fight for You
Behind every successful case is a team that knows how to take on insurance companies and deliver results. At Avera & Smith, our attorneys bring decades of experience, proven outcomes, and a reputation that demands respect.
Understanding Mental Capacity in Estate Disputes
Questions about mental capacity often arise when a loved one makes unexpected changes to a will, trust, beneficiary designation, or financial arrangement shortly before death. If someone was suffering from dementia, cognitive decline, illness, medication side effects, or diminished mental function, there may be legitimate concerns about whether they fully understood the decisions they were making.
Avera & Smith helps clients investigate capacity-related disputes by reviewing:
- Medical records and health history
- Estate planning documents and timelines
- Witness testimony and surrounding circumstances
- Communications with caregivers, advisors, or family members
- Evidence of cognitive decline or vulnerability
Our attorneys work to determine whether legal documents truly reflect your loved one’s intentions or whether legal action may be appropriate.
Resolving Disputes Over Gifts or Transfers Before Death
Estate disputes often involve concerns that money, property, accounts, or valuable assets were improperly transferred before a loved one passed away. In some situations, a vulnerable individual may have been pressured, manipulated, or influenced into making gifts or financial decisions that did not reflect their true wishes.
Avera & Smith assists with disputes involving:
- Improper gifting before death
- Suspicious bank account activity
- Joint accounts and ownership disputes
- Real estate transfers
- Beneficiary designation changes
- Property transfers involving undue influence or lack of capacity
These matters frequently require careful investigation into financial records, timelines, relationships, and intent. Our attorneys help clients uncover facts, challenge improper transfers, and pursue legal remedies when estate assets may have been wrongfully diverted.
Frequently Asked Questions: Florida Estate Law
What does it mean to contest a will?
Contesting a will means legally challenging whether the will is valid or should be enforced as written. A will may be challenged for several reasons, including concerns that: the person lacked capacity when signing it, the will was created or changed because of undue influence, the document was not properly executed, fraud or coercion was involved, or the will does not reflect the person’s true intentions. Since will contests involve strict legal standards and deadlines, it is important to contact an attorney promptly.
What is undue influence in an estate dispute?
Undue influence may occur when someone pressures, controls, or manipulates a vulnerable person into changing a will, trust, beneficiary designation, gift, or financial arrangement. These claims often involve concerns about a person with declining health or cognitive ability, isolation from family members, sudden changes to estate planning documents, or a caregiver or relative receiving unexpected benefits. Avera & Smith can investigate suspicious circumstances and help determine whether legal action may be appropriate.
Can estate disputes involve gifts or transfers made before death?
Yes. Some estate disputes involve property, money, or accounts transferred before a person passes away. These cases may raise questions about whether the transfer was valid, voluntary, or the result of pressure, manipulation, or lack of capacity. An experienced Florida estate law attorney will conduct detailed investigation into financial records, timelines, relationships, and intent.
Does Florida have an inheritance tax?
Florida does not currently have a separate state inheritance tax. The Florida Department of Revenue states that a federal change eliminated Florida’s estate tax for people who died after December 31, 2004.
What if my loved one died without a will?
When someone dies without a valid will, Florida’s intestate succession laws determine how assets are distributed. These rules can be complicated, especially when spouses, children from different relationships, real estate, jointly held property, or beneficiary designations are involved. If there is no will, an attorney can help determine who may have inheritance rights and how the probate process should move forward.
Protect Your Rights in an Estate or Inheritance Dispute
If you are involved in a dispute over a will, trust, estate, inheritance, or fiduciary matter, do not wait to get experienced legal guidance. Estate disputes in Florida can quickly become complicated, emotionally charged, and financially significant.
At Avera & Smith, our Florida estate law attorneys understand the legal, financial, and family challenges these disputes often create. For years, we have helped individuals and families navigate complex estate, trust, probate, and inheritance matters throughout Florida. Whether you are questioning a loved one’s capacity, concerned about undue influence, disputing a will or trust, or investigating fiduciary misconduct, our attorneys have the experience, strategy, and commitment needed to protect your rights and pursue the best possible outcome.
Request your consultation today.
Call 352-372-9999 or contact us online to get started.
By submitting this form, you authorize Avera & Smith to contact you regarding your potential case. Contacting us through this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. See Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Helpful Information
View helpful articles and videos to educate and guide you after an accident.
Injured in an accident on SW Archer Road in Gainesville?
If you were injured in an accident on SW Archer Road (State Road 24) in Gainesville, you’re dealing with one of…
Can You Recover Workers’ Compensation Benefits If Your Employer Is Uninsured in Florida?
Suffering a workplace injury can leave you with more questions than answers—especially if your employer doesn’t have…
Personal Injury Case Timeline | Gainesville, FL Lawyer
Every case is different, but understanding how long a personal injury case takes in Florida can help you make informed…