Contract To Make A Will

34 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• Carola D. Allen v. Est. of Ellen C. Dutton
  384 So. 2d 171· Fla. 5th DCA· 1980-05-07 ·cited 170×
  Allen, a stepdaughter and beneficiary of a family trust, claimed that her deceased stepmother Ellen breached an oral contract not to revoke her will. The court held that oral contracts not to revoke a will must be in writing under Florida law, and reversed the trial court's award
• Keith v. Culp
  111 So. 2d 278· Fla. 1st DCA· 1959-04-09 ·cited 45×
  Keith sought to enforce an alleged oral agreement with the Lees to execute mutual wills leaving their property to the survivor. The trial court dismissed his complaint, finding he failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the parties agreed the wills would remain unre
• Cotnam v. Commissioner OF Internal Revenue
  263 F.2d 119· 5th Cir.· 1959-01-23 ·cited 28×
  The court held that attorneys' fees paid from compensation for personal services are deductible only in the year paid, not prorated over the period services were rendered.
• Al Martel v. Carlson
  118 So. 2d 592· Fla. 3d DCA· 1960-03-03 ·cited 25×
  The court held that while the evidence was insufficient to establish a contract to make a will, the joint assessment of costs against the plaintiffs was improper and required apportionment.
• Phinney v. KAY
  275 F.2d 776· 5th Cir.· 1960-03-10 ·cited 18×
  The court held that Mrs. Kay possessed a general power of appointment over the estate, making the entire estate subject to federal estate tax.
• Lindeburg v. Myles Frederick Lindeburg and Gwendoline Grew and Executrix
  162 So. 2d 1· Fla. 3d DCA· 1964-03-10 ·cited 16×
  Frances Lindeburg, the divorced ex-wife of Alfred Lindeburg, sued his estate to recover the difference between the face value of a War Risk Insurance policy ($6,900) and the disability payments received before his death ($1,224), based on a property settlement agreement requiring
• In re Est. of Ella Blanche Shepherd v. Shepherd
  130 So. 2d 888· Fla. 2d DCA· 1961-06-09 ·cited 16×
  The Court held that taxpayers may amortize bond premium with reference to a special call price, as the statute permits amortization with reference to any call date specified in the bond indenture.
• Sharps v. Sharps
  219 So. 2d 735· Fla. 3d DCA· 1969-03-04 ·cited 15×
  The court held that the antenuptial agreement was testamentary in character and a contract to make a will, and the decedent's will fulfilled this obligation, thus the appellant was not entitled to recover as a creditor.
• Johnson v. Girtman
  542 So. 2d 1033· Fla. 3d DCA· 1989-04-11 ·cited 14×
  Lee Johnson appealed a judgment enforcing a 1946 family contract requiring the Girtman children to devise their property interests only to their heirs or to each other. The Florida appellate court affirmed, holding that the contract was a valid and enforceable agreement to make a
• First Gulf Beach Bank & Tr. Co. v. Grubaugh
  330 So. 2d 205· Fla. 2d DCA· 1976-04-09 ·cited 14×
  First Gulf Beach Bank and Trust Company, as executor of Bertha Ellen Weller's estate, appealed a summary judgment enforcing a contract to make a will in favor of Leo Grubaugh. The court reversed, holding that Florida Statute § 731.051 requires contracts to make a will be in writi
• In re The Est. OF Rose v. Vickery
  564 So. 2d 555· Fla. 4th DCA· 1990-07-11 ·cited 13×
  Appellants sought damages for alleged breach of a mutual will contract with Rose Vickery's estate. The court affirmed dismissal of both a civil breach of contract complaint and probate claims, holding that the complaint failed to allege a separate written agreement and the probat
• Ugent v. Boehmke
  123 So. 2d 387· Fla. 3d DCA· 1960-10-03 ·cited 10×
  The court upheld enforcement of a 1953 joint and mutual will as a binding contract between spouses, allowing a third-party beneficiary to enforce the will's provisions against the surviving spouse's attempt to modify it. The case establishes that joint and mutual wills can consti
• Hendrick v. D. H. Redfearn ad litem of the Estate of David S. Hendrick
  88 So. 2d 620· Fla.· 1956-07-13 ·cited 10×
  In this declaratory judgment proceeding, the Florida Supreme Court upheld a settlement agreement whereby David Hendrick accepted $175,000 to settle his claimed interest in his deceased father's estate, rejecting his attempt to void the settlement based on arguments that he posses
• Florraine W. Kelsey v. Pewthers
  685 So. 2d 953· Fla. 4th DCA· 1996-12-26 ·cited 4×
  Florraine Kelsey appeals a judgment awarding her nephew Troy Pewthers and his wife Martha $242,000 in damages for breach of a contract to make a will, under which the Pewthers agreed to care for Kelsey in exchange for inheriting her estate. The court reverses the damages award, h
• In re Est. of Samuel Donner v. Anton
  364 So. 2d 753· Fla. 3d DCA· 1978-10-03 ·cited 4×
  This probate case addresses the priority of competing claims against a deceased's estate, including dower rights of the surviving spouse, alimony arrearages from a prior divorce, and contractual claims for specific performance based on a promise to make a will. The court holds th
• In re Est. of Julius Rosenstein. Morton Allen Smith v. Nelan Sweet for the Estate of Julius Rosenstein
  326 So. 2d 239· Fla. 3d DCA· 1976-02-03 ·cited 4×
  The court held that the appellant was denied due process when his petition was struck without a meaningful hearing, and that his second amended complaint stated a valid cause of action for breach of contract.
• Reimche v. First Nat'l Bank OF Nev.
  512 F.2d 187· 9th Cir.· 1975-02-25 ·cited 4×
  The court held that a contract to provide for the mother of an illegitimate child in the father's will, incidental to an agreement for the father to adopt the child, is not against public policy if the adoption is in the child's best interest and the mother's motivation is not pe
• Elrick v. Commissioner OF Internal Revenue
  485 F.2d 1049· D.C. Cir.· 1973-09-10 ·cited 4×
  Legal fees incurred to acquire a life estate in settlement of claims against a father's estate, where the taxpayer was a donee beneficiary, are not amortizable. The life estate is considered a gift or inheritance, and Section 273 prohibits depreciation deductions for such interes
• McCABE v. Bagby
  186 F.2d 546· 6th Cir.· 1951-01-31 ·cited 4×
  The court held that the evidence was insufficient to establish a contract for reciprocal wills, and the district court's findings were not clearly erroneous.
• Waltz v. Ellinghouse
  165 F.2d 596· 8th Cir.· 1948-01-16 ·cited 4×
  The court held that the daughter's settlement of her claims against the estate was valid and binding, despite her later assertion of a mistake of law regarding her rights.
• MacGOWAN v. Barber
  127 F.2d 458· 2d Cir.· 1942-04-14 ·cited 4×
  The court held that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove a binding contract for the decedent to leave his property to the plaintiff, and that the plaintiff's consent to adoption did not constitute valid consideration for such a promise.
• Lillie v. Rexrode
  404 F.2d 830· D.C. Cir.· 1968-10-30 ·cited 3×
  The court held that a general release executed in open court, with advice of counsel, barred the appellant's claim based on a contract to make a will.
• Perry v. Perry
  976 So. 2d 1151· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-03-05 ·cited 2×
  The appellate court dismissed a piecemeal appeal of an order dismissing one count of a probate complaint challenging a decedent's will. The court held that all counts of the multi-count complaint arise from a single transaction and therefore cannot be appealed separately.
• Gridley v. Galego
  698 So. 2d 273· Fla. 2d DCA· 1997-06-20 ·cited 2×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court's order enforcing an antenuptial agreement requiring the decedent to establish a trust fund for his widow's support, but reversed the portion directing remainder interest to pass through the wife's estate, holding that r
• Boyle v. Schmitt
  578 So. 2d 367· Fla. 3d DCA· 1991-04-09 ·cited 2×
  John J. Boyle appealed the dismissal of his complaint seeking to enforce a contract to make a will against his mother's estate and to set aside an inter vivos transfer to his sister. The Third District Court of Appeal reversed both dismissals, holding that Boyle, as a donee benef
• Est. of Louis Somogyi v. Jeannett Marosites
  389 So. 2d 244· Fla. 5th DCA· 1980-09-24 ·cited 2×
  An oral agreement to make a joint and mutual will that predates the relevant statutory restrictions is enforceable when established by clear and convincing evidence showing both the terms of the agreement and the parties' understanding that neither could unilaterally revoke it. T
• Barkley v. Emlyn Methvin Spence Barkley
  314 F.2d 188· 5th Cir.· 1963-01-30 ·cited 2×
  A contract to execute a will in favor of children does not cut off the dower rights of a subsequent widow who married without notice of the contract.
• Boyle v. Schmitt
  602 So. 2d 665· Fla. 3d DCA· 1992-07-14 ·cited 1×
  John Boyle sued his mother's estate for breach of a 1979 contract to make a will, claiming entitlement to the bulk of her property. The court affirmed judgment against him, holding that Blanche Boyle properly revoked the contract during her lifetime by clearly communicating that
• Sawyer v. Inglis
  174 So. 2d 760· Fla. 2d DCA· 1965-04-15 ·cited 1×
  Russell Sawyer sought specific performance of an alleged contract to make a will based on mutual reciprocal wills executed by his parents, Herbert and Lucy Sawyer. The court held that mutual or reciprocal wills, standing alone without joint execution or express language indicatin
• Kellar v. Est. of John W. Kellar
  257 So. 3d 1044· Fla. 4th DCA· 2018-10-24
  The decedent's son appealed a circuit court order granting the decedent's wife's petition for administration and denying the son's counterpetition, based on findings of undue influence. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the wife presented sufficient evidence to establish
• Brown v. Wiltbank
  Del. Ch.· 2011-10-13
  The Court of Chancery affirmed the Master's finding that the defendant did not prove the existence of an oral contract for a life estate in the property. The court held that the defendant failed to meet the clear and convincing evidence standard required for contracts to make a w
• In & for Kent Cnty. Imo: Lucille F. Peterman
  Del. Ch.· 2006-10-06
  The court held that Mrs. Peterman was incompetent to transfer her property by deed to Donald on July 6, 2005, due to her advanced Alzheimer's dementia. Consequently, the deed creating a joint tenancy with right of survivorship in the home place was void. The court also found that
• In re Est. OF Delena Rowland
  504 So. 2d 543· Fla. 4th DCA· 1987-04-01
  The court enforced a 1967 joint and mutual will between spouses containing explicit language making it irrevocable except by mutual consent and binding on the survivor. After the husband's death, the surviving spouse executed multiple subsequent wills attempting to revoke the ori
• Pitt v. United States
  319 F.2d 564· 8th Cir.· 1963-06-28
  The court held that securities acquired by trustees via a will were subject to the fair market value at the decedent's death for tax basis, not their cost basis, because the will created a testamentary trust, not an inter vivos trust or transfer by contract.