In our last post, we were talking about a will contest that surely caught the eye of Florida probate attorneys. The case involved an elderly woman who changed her will shortly after she'd been diagnosed with dementia. The new will was very generous to two people who had recently come into her life: her neighbor, who was also the executor of the estate, and a former student. The case settled a few days before it went to trial, reinstating the terms of the first will ... for the most part.

The neighbor/executor was given $400,000 in the 2005 will; the 2006 will granted him $900,000. The former student wasn't named at all in the 2005 will, but she was to get $400,000 under the later version. The 2006 will eliminated the woman's bequests to three schools she'd attended and supported over the years. The first will left $1 million to the University of Hartford (Conn.) to fund a scholarship; the second will reduced that gift to $100,000.

Under the settlement, if it's approved by the probate court, the 2006 will is tossed, and the 2005 will is reinstated, with some changes, especially in the bequests to the neighbor and the former student. His share has been reduced to $575,000; hers has been reduced to $350,000. The three schools will each receive an estimated $160,000, and the University of Hartford will get 37 percent of the remainder of the estate, or roughly $900,000.

While the schools are pleased with the outcome, court documents show they "consistently alleged" that the neighbor and former student had exercised undue influence. They deny the charges.

The attorney general's office, though, is questioning the neighbor's actions. The office filed a civil suit against the neighbor, questioning his part in having himself named beneficiary of the woman's $700,000 retirement account. The case is pending. The attorney general withdrew from the probate case after the neighbor relinquished his claims to the account, but the office did forward the matter to the state attorney's office. That office declined to comment about the possibility of criminal charges.

Source: BusinessWeek, "Deal reached in spat over Conn. widow's fortune," Dale Collins, 02/02/11