Challenging a will

If an attorney prepared and witnessed the will or trust, it's probably rock solid.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Chris just to tag onto that topic a little bit, at 40 years of law practice countless numbers of people have called me and said, "Tom, my mom or dad have passed away. They've left me out of the will or they've done things unequally. I want to challenge that will and set it aside." My response to that caller is, "Hey, let me see a copy of that will." If that will was prepared by an attorney, signed in the attorney's office, witnessed and notarized by the attorney and his staff, guess what? It's rock solid. If that will is prepared by the child who got everything and that will is witnessed by the child's best friends and signed in mom's home, well, they got a good case and I've seen it both ways.

Attorney Chris Merrill: That's really the starting point though.

Attorney Tom Olsen: That's the starting point.

Attorney Chris Merrill: It's about who prepared that will is always your starting point and then you know that as soon as you see that, you're able to accurately give them, "Hey, this is what I think. If it was prepared by an attorney you have very little chance."

Attorney Tom Olsen: Yes. Let me go a step farther about that. It might have been prepared by the attorney but I want to say that it needs to have been signed in the attorney's office as well because I've had this situation where there's clearly the attorney and attorney prepared this will, because I'm going to look at a will I can tell that, but it was not signed in an attorney's office. He handed it to somebody who took it home to mom and said, "Here mom, sign here." Now, that might be open to challenge.

Attorney Chris Merrill: It could be and once again, as soon as you look at the will you know exactly what's going on.

Attorney Tom Olsen: When a will or a trust is signed, whoever is witnessing and notarizing that document they're in a sense making a statement that the person who signed it is competent and that person that signed it was not under duress. Nobody's holding a gun to his or her head. That's if you're ever going to challenge a will that's going to be the first thing that's going to be asked is, you're going to be taking the deposition of the witnesses in a nerdery and gathering up that information.

Attorney Chris Merrill: All part of the Florida legal requirements for will.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Hey folks. My name is Tom Olsen. The name of the show is Olsen on Law every Saturday at 1:00 right here on WFLA. We're going to take a break. We'll be back in just a few minutes.