wills

[benbooth0007]

i wanted know if I can file lawsuit against my cousin because she was an executor of a will which I was beneficiary of she nor her her lawyer never notified me of will within 30 days and was wanting to know if there was time limit in the state of Florida for notifying beneficiary of a will

 

[adjusterjack]

Same answers I gave you on the other site.

 

[Dandy Don]

So, when and how did you eventually find out that probate had been opened?

Forget about a lawsuit, since that would be a waste of time and money. The main thing to do is to contact the county courthouse probate court to order a copy of all the documents that have been filed so far, to find out for sure to see whether the executor has listed your name and address as a potential heir/beneficiary.

 

[Taxing Matters]

i wanted know if I can file lawsuit against my cousin because she was an executor of a will which I was beneficiary of she nor her her lawyer never notified me of will within 30 days and was wanting to know if there was time limit in the state of Florida for notifying beneficiary of a will

All the Florida statutes say is that the administrator of the estate is to "promptly" give notice to beneficiaries that there is a an estate probate proceeding. There is no set time period. Florida Statute (FS) section 733.212. That same statute states that if the administrator in good faith fails to give notice that the administrator is not personally liable for the failure. So before you could successfully sue your cousin personally for this, you have to prove she did not act in good faith, e.g. she knew you were a beneficiary and knew she had to send the notices but neglected to send it anyway or intentionally did not send it. Do you know why the notice was not sent? Did she have your current address to send it? If she didn't, how easily could she get your address? Is she in contact with other relatives that knew how to reach you?

How did you find out about the estate and when? And importantly, are you still going to get whatever the will said you are supposed to get? If you aren't missing out on your bequest then there is nothing to get by suing anyone as you haven't been damaged by the lack of notice.