Testamentary Intent

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

• Sorrells v. McNally
  89 Fla. 457· Fla.· 1925-05-30 ·cited 151×
  The Florida Supreme Court reversed a trial court's decision that vested the residuary estate entirely in the widow Zeolide W. Flinn, holding instead that a grandson Charles Otto Flinn took a vested remainder interest in one-half the estate that passed to his mother Ruth Iona Sorr
• Gardiner v. Goertner
  110 Fla. 377· Fla.· 1932-07-18 ·cited 109×
  Elizabeth W. Gardiner appeals from a decree revoking the probate of Francis Gardiner's will dated November 1, 1929, which left his entire estate to her. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the revocation, finding sufficient evidence of undue influence and testamentary incapacity d
• Roberts v. Mosely
  100 Fla. 267· Fla.· 1930-07-25 ·cited 74×
  In this will construction case, the Florida Supreme Court held that a testator's gift of property to his wife in fee simple can be limited by subsequent provisions in the same will that create a remainder over to other beneficiaries, rejecting the English rule of repugnancy that
• Benj. F. Stewart v. Johnson
  142 Fla. 425· Fla.· 1940-03-15 ·cited 70×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that the doctrine of dependent relative revocation applies to allow a missing 1937 will to be reestablished and admitted to probate, even though the testator executed an invalid 1938 will with language purporting to revoke all prior wills. The Court
• Shriners Hosps. FOR Crippled Child. v. Zrillic
  563 So. 2d 64· Fla.· 1990-05-31 ·cited 63×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that Florida's mortmain statute (section 732.803), which allowed lineal descendants to void charitable devises made within six months of the testator's death, is unconstitutional as an unreasonable restriction on the constitutional right to devise p
• Marshall v. Hewett
  156 Fla. 645· Fla.· 1945-12-07 ·cited 59×
  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a trial court's construction of J. B. Hewett's will, holding that the testator intended to give his widow a life estate in all his property with broad management and control rights, rather than requiring the estate assets to remain under the exe
• Murphy v. Murphy
  125 Fla. 855· Fla.· 1936-10-26 ·cited 56×
  A widow of a Florida domiciliary who died in California successfully elected to take dower against her husband's will rather than accept the provisions made for her benefit. The Florida Supreme Court held that the widow had the right to dissent, determined the scope of her dower
• Espinosa v. Sparber
  612 So. 2d 1378· Fla.· 1993-02-04 ·cited 55×
  A lawsuit alleging professional malpractice cannot be brought on behalf of an after-born child against the draftsman of a will or codicil if the testator's intent to provide for that child is not affirmatively expressed in the testamentary documents.
• Waterbury v. Munn
  159 Fla. 754· Fla.· 1947-11-25 ·cited 53×
  The court interpreted a codicil to a will that allowed trustees discretion to sell trust property and distribute proceeds, examining its effect on the original will's provisions for income distribution and protection against creditors.
• Dean v. Crews
  77 Fla. 319· Fla.· 1919-03-29 ·cited 51×
  In this will construction case, the Florida Supreme Court held that a residuary bequest to "my four children" was a class gift that vested only upon the youngest daughter reaching age 21. Since two class members (the son and one daughter) died before that contingency occurred, th
• Trotter v. Van Pelt
  144 Fla. 517· Fla.· 1940-10-01 ·cited 50×
  Dr. Triplett, a Virginia resident, executed a will in 1927 with three unattested codicils and died in 1930 owning real estate in both Virginia and Florida. Virginia courts probated the will as holographic and unattested, but Florida courts must determine the will's validity as to
• In re Est. of Hortense Caldwell v. Caldwell
  247 So. 2d 1· Fla.· 1971-03-31 ·cited 48×
  The Florida Supreme Court upheld a statute restricting illegitimate children's inheritance rights, holding that Levy v. Louisiana (involving wrongful death) was distinguishable and that states retain authority to regulate intestate succession. The court reversed the trial court's
• Adams v. Saunders
  139 Fla. 730· Fla.· 1939-06-16 ·cited 48×
  Frank Adams, through his next friend, sought to invalidate an agreement whereby he conveyed his interest in his deceased brother's estate, alleging he lacked mental capacity and was subjected to undue influence. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's dismissal, hold
• Arnold v. Wells
  100 Fla. 1470· Fla.· 1930-12-16 ·cited 48×
  In this Florida probate case, the court interpreted a will devising real property to the testator's grandson "for his natural life" with remainder to "the heirs of his body," and if he died without such heirs, then to the testator's heirs. The court held that the grandson took on
• Watts v. Newport
  149 Fla. 181· Fla.· 1941-12-19 ·cited 47×
  The Florida Supreme Court reversed a lower court's decision that had overturned a probate court's denial of a will. The court found that the probate judge's findings, based on substantial evidence of fraud, undue influence, and lack of testamentary capacity, should have been affi
• Richards v. West
  110 So. 2d 698· Fla. 1st DCA· 1959-04-14 ·cited 46×
  Remaindermen appealed the dismissal of their complaint challenging a life tenant's disposition of estate assets, arguing the life tenant improperly invaded corpus without necessity. The court held that a life tenant with discretionary power to invade for maintenance may do so in
• In re Est. of Howard W. Parker v. Parker
  110 So. 2d 498· Fla. 1st DCA· 1959-03-19 ·cited 45×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a county judge's determination that bequests of United States Steel stock to testator's daughters were general legacies not entitled to additional shares from a stock split. The court held that post-execution stock splits effect only
• Pancoast v. Pancoast
  97 So. 2d 875· Fla. 2d DCA· 1957-10-23 ·cited 42×
  A declaratory action sought construction of a will. The trial court entered a summary decree construing the will's terms, but the appellate court reversed, holding that summary procedure was improper for will construction disputes because determining testamentary intent requires
• Dutcher v. The Est. OF Loreta B. Dutcher
  437 So. 2d 788· Fla. 2d DCA· 1983-09-16 ·cited 40×
  Stuart Dutcher appeals from an order determining that his children are the principal beneficiaries of his mother's self-drafted will. The appellate court reverses, holding that Dutcher himself is the principal beneficiary based on the will's language, extrinsic evidence of the te
• Hulsh v. Rea R. Hulsh
  431 So. 2d 658· Fla. 3d DCA· 1983-05-03 ·cited 39×
  This case involves the interpretation of a testator's will and the enforceability of an antenuptial agreement waiving a spouse's testamentary rights. The court held that an antenuptial agreement validly waived the widow's rights to take under the will, but that the widow's disqua
• Adams v. Vidal
  60 So.2d 545· Fla.· 1952-08-05 ·cited 39×
  The Florida Supreme Court interpreted a testator's will to determine the vesting of property interests. The court held that the beneficiaries' interests were subject to divestment upon their death without surviving spouse or lineal descendants, and that this condition applied bot
• McKEAN v. Warburton
  919 So. 2d 341· Fla.· 2005-09-08 ·cited 38×
  The Florida Supreme Court answered a certified question regarding homestead property disposition in an estate where the decedent had no surviving spouse or minor children. The Court held that protected homestead property passes to residuary devisees rather than general devisees u
• Mosgrove v. Mach
  133 Fla. 459· Fla.· 1938-07-14 ·cited 38×
  This case involves the construction of Emil Mach's will regarding the disposition of his residuary estate. The Florida Supreme Court held that while Mrs. Mary Selina Mosgrove received a life estate in one-half of the residue with a power to sell and dispose of property, she did n
• Vida Blanche Cole v. Cole
  88 Fla. 347· Fla.· 1924-11-29 ·cited 36×
  In this will construction case, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's interpretation that the testator's son Melvin inherited the estate in fee simple subject to a $100 monthly annuity for his sister Vida Blanche during her lifetime, but modified the decree to requ
• Perkins v. Mrs. C. O'Donald and Mr. C. O'Donald
  77 Fla. 710· Fla.· 1919-05-21 ·cited 36×
  In this ejectment action, the Florida Supreme Court held that extrinsic evidence cannot be admitted to show that a testator intended to devise a lot different from that described in the will, even when the described lot appears not to have been owned by the testator. The court re
• Lines v. Darden
  5 Fla. 51· Fla.· 1853-01-01 ·cited 36×
  Sarah A. Lines challenged a lower court decree that recognized a trust in favor of grandchildren against the life estate granted to her by Jonathan Robinson's will. The Florida Supreme Court held that the will created only a discretionary power in Mrs. Lines, not a mandatory trus
• Olive Lorraine v. Grover, Ciment, Weinstein & Stauber, P.A.
  467 So. 2d 315· Fla. 3d DCA· 1985-02-05 ·cited 34×
  A beneficiary under a will sued her deceased testator's attorney for legal malpractice, claiming the attorney negligently drafted the will by failing to advise of the constitutional prohibition against devising homestead property. The court affirmed summary judgment for the attor
• Park Lake Presbyterian Church v. Est. OF Albert A. Henry
  106 So. 2d 215· Fla. 2d DCA· 1958-11-05 ·cited 34×
  Park Lake Presbyterian Church appealed a probate court determination that certain stock bequests in Albert A. Henry's will were demonstrative legacies subject to abatement after general legacies. The Florida appellate court reversed, holding that the stock bequests were general l
• Iles v. Malvern W. Iles
  158 Fla. 493· Fla.· 1947-02-11 ·cited 34×
  In this will construction case, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed that gifts to a divorced wife under a will were conditioned upon her surviving the testator as his wife, and therefore the gifts lapsed when the testator died after the divorce was finalized. The court held that t
• The Est. OF George Drew Conger v. Conger
  414 So. 2d 230· Fla. 3d DCA· 1982-05-04 ·cited 33×
  The personal representative of an estate holding majority stock in Conger Life Insurance Company attempted to discharge the company's board and president (the decedent's son, who was the named trustee) and assume control. The court affirmed the trial court's injunction restoring
• Byers v. Beddow
  106 Fla. 166· Fla.· 1932-07-13 ·cited 33×
  Elizabeth Beddow sought to dissolve a testamentary trust established for her benefit by her father's will, requesting to receive her one-fourth share of the estate outright rather than as income from a trust. The Florida Supreme Court reversed, holding that the trust cannot be di
• In re Est. of Adele Hart Barret
  137 So. 2d 587· Fla. 1st DCA· 1962-01-23 ·cited 32×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal addresses whether a testator can require a non-probate jointly-owned asset to bear estate taxes and administration costs, and whether the respondent's attorney should receive a fee from the estate. The court holds that property passing outside
• Wallace v. Julier
  147 Fla. 420· Fla.· 1941-06-10 ·cited 32×
  This case involves a dispute over whether certain accumulated funds in the Burton estate trusts should be classified as income for life tenants or corpus for remaindermen. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's finding that the trustees properly exercised their disc
• Johnson v. Burleson
  61 So. 2d 170· Fla.· 1952-08-05 ·cited 31×
  This case concerns the distribution of income from an estate and the allowance of attorney's fees. The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed in part and reversed in part a lower court's decision regarding the accounting of an estate and the payment of attorney fees for services rende
• In re Washington's Estate
  56 So.2d 545· Fla.· 1952-02-05 ·cited 31×
  The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed a lower court's decision to probate a copy of a lost will. The court found sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption that the testator revoked the will by destruction, considering the testator's stated intentions and suspicious actions
• Mass. Audubon Soc'y, Inc. v. Ormond Vill. Improvement Ass'n OF Ormond
  152 Fla. 1· Fla.· 1942-11-20 ·cited 31×
  Martha Clarke's will devised a property known as Coacoochee Cottage to the "Trustees of Anderson and Price Memorial Building of Ormond, Florida," but the Ormond Village Improvement Association, which had constructed a building bearing the Anderson-Price Memorial name, claimed to
• Alvina Lewiza Floyd v. Augustus V. S. Smith
  59 Fla. 485· Fla.· 1910-01-01 ·cited 31×
  A daughter challenged her mother's will, arguing that language in the will's third paragraph created an enforceable trust requiring her son (the executor and sole beneficiary) to provide for her. The Florida Supreme Court held that the testator's explicit statement of her intenti
• In re Est. OF David H. Rice v. Murray A. Greenberg & Flagship Nat'l Bank of Miami
  406 So. 2d 469· Fla. 3d DCA· 1981-09-29 ·cited 30×
  This case involves the construction of a will to determine whether specific bank stock devised to the residuary trust vested immediately upon the testator's death or remained contingent, and whether the stock could be used to fund a marital trust for the testator's surviving wife
• In re Est. of Charles H. Pratt v. Pratt
  88 So. 2d 499· Fla.· 1956-03-02 ·cited 30×
  The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the invalidity of charitable bequests in a will executed only three days before the testator's death, where an earlier will containing identical charitable bequests had been expressly revoked. The court rejected the application of the dependent
• Gammons v. Hassett
  121 F.2d 229· 1st Cir.· 1941-06-27 ·cited 30×
  The court held that the existence of a power to invade the corpus, rather than the likelihood of its exercise, governs the deductibility of a charitable remainder interest for estate tax purposes.
• In re Etate of W. L. Blocks v. Tatro
  143 Fla. 163· Fla.· 1940-05-24 ·cited 29×
  The Florida Supreme Court upheld the probate of an unsigned will disposing of personal property, holding that the testator's intent must be determined from the will itself and that a slight presumption of incompleteness arising from an unexecuted attestation clause may be overcom
• In re the Est. OF Alexander Tolin
  622 So. 2d 988· Fla.· 1993-07-01 ·cited 28×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that a codicil cannot be revoked by destroying a photographic copy, even if the testator mistakenly believed the copy was the original and intended to revoke. However, the Court imposed a constructive trust to prevent unjust enrichment of the uninte
• THE State OF Fla. & Millard Caldwell v. North
  159 Fla. 351· Fla.· 1947-07-22 ·cited 28×
  Florida Supreme Court upheld the validity of John Ringling's will and codicil, determining that the testator effectively disposed of his entire $23 million estate, with major bequests to the State of Florida for an art museum and a charitable trust, and rejecting claims by relati
• Morgenthaler v. First Atl. Nat'l Bank OF Daytona Beach
  80 So. 2d 446· Fla.· 1955-05-18 ·cited 27×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that when a testator directs an executor to purchase an annuity for a beneficiary, the beneficiary cannot elect to receive the corpus in lieu of the annuity, and the executor must ensure the annuity contract includes provisions preventing the annuit
• In re Est. of Frank C. Rogers v. First Nat'l Bank IN Fort Lauderdale
  180 So. 2d 167· Fla. 2d DCA· 1965-09-28 ·cited 26×
  The court reversed the probate court's construction of the will of Frank C. Rogers, holding that the residuary clause providing a marital deduction to the widow takes priority over specific bequests to the daughter. The decision interprets the testator's intent to ensure the wido
• Blodget v. Delaney
  201 F.2d 589· 1st Cir.· 1953-01-29 ·cited 26×
  The court's holding is not explicitly stated in this concurring opinion, but it implies agreement with the majority's judgment despite reservations.
• Rewis v. Rewis
  79 Fla. 126· Fla.· 1920-02-04 ·cited 26×
  This case concerns the interpretation of a will's devise of real estate. The court determined whether a remainder interest was vested or contingent, impacting a grandchild's claim to a share of the property.
• Elma G. Brown v. Avery
  63 Fla. 355· Fla.· 1912-01-01 ·cited 26×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that a document executed without subscribing witnesses could be admitted to probate as a codicil to a will insofar as it disposed of personal property, even though it was ineffective as to real estate. The court adopted the rule that parol evidence
• Miles Brundage v. Bank OF Am. u/a Dorothy S. Gutsgell Amended & Restate Revocable Tr. Agreement dated March 26
  996 So. 2d 877· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-10-29 ·cited 25×
  Beneficiaries of a revocable trust appealed a judgment dismissing their claims for declaratory relief and breach of fiduciary duty regarding the distribution of stock from the trust following a 1998 stock split. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the declaratory judgme
• In re Est. OF George B. Walters, Sr. v. Edwards
  700 So. 2d 434· Fla. 4th DCA· 1997-10-08 ·cited 25×
  In this will construction appeal, the court affirmed that the testator's directive to pay mortgages on the 40th Street property was unambiguous and binding on the personal representative, even though the testator conveyed the property to Edwards after executing the will. The cour