Contesting a Trust in Sarasota: Your Rights Under Florida Law and How the Process Works

A trust plays an important role in Sarasota estate planning, helping to protect you, your assets, and your loved ones. It should reflect the genuine wishes of the person who created it. When it doesn’t, you have the right to contest it.

With over 50 years of collective experience serving local families in these cases, you can count on our Sarasota probate litigation lawyer to help. Find out the grounds for contesting a trust in Florida and the steps involved.

When Contesting a Sarasota Trust Makes Sense

Think of a trust as a set of instructions you create during your lifetime to control what happens to your assets in the event of your passing. Done right, a trust is a powerful estate planning tool. It keeps assets out of probate, transfers property quickly to loved ones, and allows for more detailed distributions than a standard will.

However, problems arise when the trust does not reflect what the creator intended. Under Florida Statute 736.0207, there are several grounds on which a trust can be challenged:

• Lack of capacity, meaning the creator did not fully understand or comprehend what they were signing.
• Undue influence, where someone close to the creator used that relationship to pressure or manipulate them.
• Fraud or duress, where the creator was deceived or felt threatened or coerced.
• Improper execution and not complying with Florida law.

Florida law makes no-contest clauses in trusts unenforceable. That means that even if a trust includes a no-contest clause, you can still contest it for failing to meet state requirements.

Steps Involved in Contesting a Sarasota Trust

If you believe a Sarasota trust was created under problematic circumstances, you have the right to dispute or contest it through the Florida Probate Court. Steps you’ll need to take typically include:

• Confirm you have standing to challenge the trust, either as a named beneficiary or as someone who would inherit if the trust were set aside.
• Gather the trust documents, including any amendments, along with medical records, financial records, and communications that may shed light on the creator’s state of mind or the influence of others.
• File a formal petition, clearly laying out the grounds for your challenge.
• Go through discovery, where both sides exchange documents, take depositions, and may bring in expert witnesses.
• Attempt mediation, which Florida courts frequently require before a trust contest can proceed to a full hearing.
• Proceed to trial if mediation does not resolve the dispute.

Before taking any formal action, get professional legal help, as procedural requirements for a trust contest in Sarasota are specific and missing a single step can hurt your case.

Contact Our Experienced Sarasota Probate Litigation Lawyer

At Suncoast Civil Law, our legal team has helped Sarasota clients resolve complex probate court matters for more than 50 years. If you have questions about creating a trust, or concerns as a beneficiary, contact our office.

Our Sarasota probate litigation lawyer provides trusted legal help. Request a consultation today.

flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/Chapter736/All

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0736/Sections/0736.0207.html

flcourts.gov/Courts-System/florida-courts-help/other-resources/probate