Tampa probate litigation attorney
A Tampa probate litigation attorney handles the estates that are fought over rather than simply filed — contested probate is different work from probate administration, and it is the only work this page is about. Contested estates from Tampa, Brandon, Riverview, Plant City, Temple Terrace and Valrico are heard in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse, 800 E Twiggs Street, Room 204, Tampa, FL 33602. That is where a will is challenged, where a personal representative is removed, where a trustee is made to account, and where a family finds out what happened to money that moved before the death.
Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr. handles contested probate, will disputes, trust litigation and fiduciary removal in all 67 Florida counties, in English and in Spanish. The initial consultation is free.
Updated August 6, 2026. Every statute and every Hillsborough filing rule on this page was read against the current Florida Statutes and the Clerk’s own probate page this week. The deadline that ends most Tampa cases before they start is §733.212(3) — 3 months, not 90 days, from service of the notice of administration.
What is a probate dispute, and when does it become litigation?
A probate dispute becomes litigation the moment a judge has to decide it rather than a clerk record it. Uncontested probate is paperwork — a petition, a notice, an inventory, a discharge. Litigation begins when two people who both have standing disagree about the document, the money, or the person holding it.
Six things arrive most often in the Thirteenth Circuit:
| Dispute | What is actually contested | Governing section |
|---|---|---|
| Will dispute | How the document was made — capacity, undue influence, execution | §732.5165 |
| Revocation of probate | A will already admitted, challenged before final discharge | §733.109 |
| Removing a personal representative | Conduct after appointment — waste, conflict, refusal to account | §733.504 |
| Trust dispute | A trust or amendment procured by influence, fraud or duress | §736.0406 |
| Breach of fiduciary duty | A trustee’s accounting, distributions, or silence | §736.0813 |
| Exploitation before death | Transfers made while the decedent was alive, not by the will | §825.103 |
The last row is the one Tampa families miss most. If the accounts were emptied before the death, the will may be beside the point — the money never reached the estate, and the claim runs against the person who took it, not against the document.
Who can bring a probate dispute in Hillsborough County?
Only an interested person. §731.201(23) defines that as “any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved.” In practice it is one question: would you receive more if this will fell than you receive under it?
That covers more people than callers expect, and fewer than some hope.
- You can usually contest even if you are not named, so long as you would take without the will — as an intestate heir, or as a beneficiary of an earlier will this one replaced. Being written out is not a bar to standing. It is frequently the evidence.
- A step-child normally cannot, unless legally adopted or named in a prior will. That is a hard answer and it is better heard in a free consultation than after a filing fee.
- A surviving spouse has rights that do not require contesting anything. The elective share under §732.2065 is “an amount equal to 30 percent of the elective estate”, whatever the will says. Price that first — it is often larger and far cheaper than a contest.
- Standing is issue-specific, not global. A creditor is an interested person for the questions that touch the debt and no further.
What are the grounds for a will dispute in Florida?
Not that the split feels unfair. Florida does not police generosity. §732.5165 is one sentence and it names the list:
“A will is void if the execution is procured by fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence.”
Four grounds, plus one from elsewhere in the code:
- Undue influence — someone in a position of trust overbore the testator’s free will. The most common ground by a wide margin.
- Lack of testamentary capacity — the testator did not understand the nature of the act, the extent of the property, or the natural objects of their bounty. Capacity is measured at the moment of signing, which is why a dementia diagnosis is evidence and not proof.
- Improper execution — §732.502 requires signature at the end, before two attesting witnesses, who sign in the presence of the testator and of each other.
- Fraud, duress or mistake — a forged signature, a page swapped after execution, a document the signer was told was something else.
- Revocation — a later will or codicil that superseded the one being offered.
Two features of §732.5165 change strategy in real cases:
- Only the part so procured fails. “Any part of the will is void if so procured, but the remainder of the will not so procured shall be valid.” A dispute does not have to be all-or-nothing — attacking the single clause that changed is often the stronger case.
- A procured revocation is also void. If a good will was destroyed under pressure, that act is attackable on its own, and an earlier will can come back into force.
How long do you have to contest a will in Hillsborough County?
Three months from the date you are served with the notice of administration, under §733.212(3). Miss it and the objection is “forever barred.”
Three things about that deadline before it passes:
- It is 3 calendar months, not 90 days. Served on 1 January, the deadline is 1 April — 91 days, and wider in a leap year. Counting 90 days can make a live case look dead.
- It runs from service, not from the death and not from when you found out. Two siblings served two weeks apart have two different deadlines.
- It extends only for estoppel based on a misstatement by the personal representative about the deadline itself, and never past the earlier of final discharge or one year after service.
If you were never served, that clock has not started against you. Check before concluding it is too late.
The other clocks running alongside it:
| Clock | Period | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Objection after service of the notice of administration | 3 months from service | §733.212(3) |
| Petition to revoke probate | Any time before final discharge | §733.109 |
| Creditor claim after first publication | 3 months | §733.702 |
| Creditor claim, absolute outer bar | 2 years from death | §733.710 |
| Action against a trustee over a matter disclosed in an accounting | 6 months from receipt | §736.1008 |
| Custodian’s duty to deposit an original will | 10 days after learning of the death | §732.901 |
What is a trust dispute, and how is it different from a will contest?
A will is challenged in the probate case. A trust is a separate instrument with its own rules, its own deadlines, and — critically — its own duty of disclosure that most Tampa beneficiaries are never told about.
§736.0813 opens with a duty, not a discretion: “The trustee shall keep the qualified beneficiaries of the trust reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.” It then requires, within 60 days of accepting the trust, notice of acceptance and the trustee’s name and address; within 60 days of the trust becoming irrevocable, notice of its existence, the settlor’s identity, and your right to request a copy of the trust instrument; and a trust accounting to each qualified beneficiary at least annually, on termination, and on a change of trustee.
A trustee who will not tell you the trust exists is already in breach of the statute’s first sentence.
Three more that decide trust cases:
- §736.0406 voids a trust, amendment or restatement procured by fraud, duress, mistake or undue influence — the trust analogue of §732.5165 — and voids a revocation so procured.
- §736.0706 lets a settlor, cotrustee or beneficiary ask the court to remove a trustee for a serious breach of trust; where lack of cooperation among cotrustees substantially impairs administration; or where unfitness, unwillingness or persistent failure to administer effectively means removal best serves the beneficiaries.
- §736.1008 bars a claim over any matter “adequately disclosed in a trust disclosure document” unless suit is filed within 6 months after receipt. Read every accounting the week it arrives; filing it in a drawer does not stop the clock.
How do you prove undue influence in a Tampa estate case?
Often you do not have to prove it outright, and that single rule decides more Florida cases than any other in the probate code.
The default first. Under §733.107(1) the proponent establishes that the will was executed and attested properly, and the burden then moves to the challenger. That is why most contests are uphill.
Then subsection (2). Where the presumption of undue influence applies, it is a presumption that shifts the burden of proof under ss. 90.301–90.304, “adopted to implement the public policy of this state against abuse of fiduciary or confidential relationships.”
Once it triggers, the favoured beneficiary must disprove undue influence. The family stops having to prove what happened behind a closed door.
Florida courts look at whether the beneficiary stood in a confidential relationship with the decedent, was substantially benefited, and was active in procuring the will — and on that last element at conduct such as being present at the signing, being present when the wish to make a will was expressed, recommending the attorney, knowing the contents beforehand, giving the drafter instructions, securing the witnesses, and keeping the will afterwards.
What that means for what you gather:
- Medical records for the twelve months around signing — not to prove incapacity, but to establish dependence.
- Who made the appointment, who drove, who sat in the room, who paid.
- Bank and brokerage statements — new joint accounts, new signature cards, new powers of attorney.
- The drafting attorney’s file. Notes, intake forms, correspondence. Frequently decisive and frequently obtainable.
- Isolation. Changed locks, blocked calls, a new number, visitors turned away.
- Timing. A will changed weeks after a hospital discharge, in favour of the person who managed it, is a different document from one signed in good health five years earlier.
If those facts are there, you should hear it at the first meeting. If they are not, expect a harder case — and you should hear that at the first meeting too, not after the retainer is signed.
What if the money was taken before the death?
Then the will may be the wrong target, and this is the single most common misdiagnosis in contested Tampa estates. Assets moved during the decedent’s lifetime — a retitled account, a new beneficiary designation, a deed signed six weeks before death — never enter the estate at all. Attacking the will does not reach them.
Three consequences run against the person who took them, and they stack:
1. The instrument dies. A deed or will procured by influence is void under §732.5165; a trust or amendment so procured is void under §736.0406.
2. Civil liability, potentially trebled. Where the conduct amounts to exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult, §772.11 gives a person injured by a violation of §825.103(1), proved “by clear and convincing evidence,” a claim for threefold the actual damages — subject to a written pre-suit demand and a 30-day compliance window.
3. Criminal exposure. §825.103 makes exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult a felony graded by value: third degree under $10,000, second degree from $10,000 to under $50,000, first degree at $50,000 or more. Charging is the State Attorney’s decision, not a private party’s.
Can a personal representative be removed in Hillsborough County?
Yes, on twelve enumerated grounds under §733.504. The ones that arise in real Tampa cases are rarely the dramatic ones:
- Failure to comply with a court order, unless superseded on appeal
- Failure to account for a sale, or to produce the estate’s assets when required
- Wasting or maladministration of the estate
- Holding or acquiring interests adverse to the estate that interfere with administration
- Failure to give bond, or to answer a demand or file a return required by law
- Conviction of a felony, incapacity, or removal of domicile from Florida where domicile was a qualification
Note the fourth. A personal representative who is also a beneficiary, and who is buying estate property or preferring their own claim, may be removable on conflict grounds with no allegation of dishonesty at all. Removal protects the estate; it is not a finding about character.
On cost: §733.106 lets the court award reasonable compensation from the estate to an attorney who has rendered services to it, and to direct “from what part of the estate they shall be paid” — including against the share of a beneficiary whose conduct drove the cost. A person who offered a will in good faith may recover fees from the estate even if probate is denied or revoked.
What is estate litigation, and what does it cover?
Broader than a will contest. Estate litigation is every dispute that arises out of a death: the will, the trust, the fiduciary, the lifetime transfers, the homestead, the elective share, and the accounting nobody will produce.
In the Thirteenth Circuit the recurring shapes are:
- A sibling who held the power of attorney and cannot explain the last two years of statements.
- A second spouse and adult children from a first marriage, with a homestead in the middle.
- A trustee who is also a beneficiary, making distributions to themselves and none to anyone else.
- A Tampa property — often a rental or a family home in Seminole Heights, Ybor, or Town ‘n’ Country — sold below value to someone connected to the fiduciary.
- A closely held business with no succession plan and two heirs who each believe they run it.
Each of those is a different case with a different fastest route. Which route is faster is usually clear in the first meeting, and it is often not the one the family arrived expecting.
Can an executor of a will remove a beneficiary?
No. A personal representative — Florida’s term for what most people call the executor — administers the estate. They do not rewrite it. There is no power to disinherit anyone, reduce a share, change a percentage, or decide a beneficiary no longer deserves what the will leaves them.
What a personal representative can do, which is what usually prompts the question:
- Delay. Distribution can lawfully wait for creditor periods, tax clearance, or the sale of real property. It can also unlawfully wait for no reason, and from the outside the two look identical.
- Charge the estate. Fees, costs and attorney’s fees reduce what is left.
- Dispute that you are a beneficiary at all, if the will is ambiguous or a later document exists.
- Sell the asset you wanted. A specific devise generally survives; residuary property may not.
None of that is removal. If a personal representative is behaving as though the inheritance is theirs to allocate, that is not a power they hold — it is a ground to remove them.
What the Elder Justice Center means for a contested Hillsborough case
This is genuinely local, and out-of-county counsel routinely miss it. The Thirteenth Circuit runs an Elder Justice Center inside the courthouse in downtown Tampa. Its court counselors review guardianship plans and accountings before they reach the judge, and Center staff may be appointed as court monitors to investigate concerns about a ward’s welfare or finances.
Two practical consequences:
- In any Tampa matter where a guardianship ran alongside the estate, there is a supervised paper trail that does not exist in most counties — reviewed plans, audited accountings under §744.3678, and sometimes a monitor’s findings. In a later undue-influence case that record is evidence, and it was created by the court rather than by a party.
- If an elderly relative is being exploited right now and no case has been filed, the Center is a real point of contact rather than a referral loop. It can be reached at (813) 276-2726.
The Hillsborough original-will trap
The single most common avoidable mistake in Tampa probate, and it has nothing to do with the merits.
- An original will cannot be e-filed. It must be mailed to P.O. Box 3360, Tampa, FL 33601, or hand-delivered to the Clerk. Families who scan and upload it have not deposited it.
- An Acknowledgement of Venue form must accompany the will. A will sent without it is not properly deposited.
- There is no fee to deposit a will. Cost is not the reason to delay.
- The custodian has 10 days after learning of the death, under §732.901. A custodian who fails without just cause can be ordered to pay “all costs, damages, and a reasonable attorney’s fee” to the petitioner who has to force it.
If someone is holding the original will and will not lodge it, that is not a stalemate. It is a petition, and the statute puts the costs on them.
Where contested probate is heard in Hillsborough County
| Location | Address | Serves |
|---|---|---|
| George E. Edgecomb Courthouse | 800 E Twiggs St, Room 204, Tampa, FL 33602 | Tampa, Temple Terrace, Carrollwood, Town ‘n’ Country, Westchase, Riverview, Apollo Beach, Ruskin |
| Plant City Courthouse | 301 N Michigan Ave, Room 1071, Plant City, FL 33563 | Plant City, Valrico, Dover, Seffner |
The Clerk’s probate, guardianship and trust division can be reached at (813) 276-8100.
Does a no-contest clause stop you?
No. §732.517 is a single sentence: a provision in a will purporting to penalize any interested person for contesting the will, or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate, is unenforceable.
In terrorem clauses are enforceable in many states. They are not enforceable here, in wills or in trusts. The clause may still be sitting in the document — drafters copy them from out-of-state forms constantly — and it may still read as though it works. It does not. Whatever the risks of a contested estate in Florida, forfeiting what you were already left is not among them.
What does a contested estate cost, and how long does it take?
It depends on whether the other side is defending conduct or defending a document, and on whether the §733.107(2) presumption is in play. A case where the burden shifts is a different economic proposition from one where it does not, and that assessment can usually be made at the first meeting.
What can be said in advance is what drives the number:
- the volume of medical and financial records that must be obtained and read
- whether a guardianship or a power of attorney ran alongside — in Hillsborough that often means an Elder Justice Center file as well
- how many beneficiaries must be served and how many are represented
- whether the estate holds Florida real property, a closely held business, or out-of-state assets
- whether the fight is over the will alone or over lifetime transfers as well
- whether the personal representative is also the favoured beneficiary, which merges two disputes into one
What you will not read here is an estimate of your odds or a success rate. Rule 4-7.13 prohibits promises about outcomes, and no honest lawyer prices a case they have not seen.
What does “probate litigation specialist” mean in Florida?
It is a regulated term. The Florida Bar certifies in Wills, Trusts and Estates, and Rule 4-7.14 permits specialist or expert only where the claim is objectively verifiable — by that certification, or by the lawyer’s training, record and substantial involvement in the area.
What is verifiable about this office:
- Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., Florida Bar No. 107002, licensed and in active practice in Florida since 2013. Anyone can confirm it free in The Florida Bar’s member directory.
- Practice concentrated in probate, wills, trusts and the transfer of Florida real property.
- Solo practice: the same person answers the phone, files the petition and appears in court.
- Service in English and Spanish, in all 67 counties — Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk and the rest.
What you will not read here is that this is the best firm in Tampa. Rule 4-7.13 prohibits unsupported comparisons.
What to do this week
If you have been served with a notice of administration, the clock in §733.212(3) is already running and it does not pause while you decide.
Bring three things:
- The will, and any earlier will or codicil you have ever seen.
- The notice, with its date of service — the date on the envelope sets the deadline.
- Anything showing who was near the decedent in the final year. Calendars, texts, bank statements, the name of the person who drove to the lawyer’s office. That last category decides more cases than the will itself.
Speak to a Tampa probate litigation attorney directly. Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr. — (305) 224-6811. Free consultation in English or Spanish, for contested estates anywhere in Hillsborough County: Tampa, Brandon, Riverview, Plant City, Temple Terrace, Valrico, Lutz, Carrollwood, Apollo Beach and Sun City Center. You can also write from the contact page.
For the underlying law on challenging a will statewide, see contesting a will in Florida. Esta página en español: abogado de herencias en Tampa.
Related: Florida probate litigation lawyer · Florida trust litigation attorney · Pinellas County probate litigation attorney · Miami probate litigation attorney · West Palm Beach probate litigation attorney. Esta página en español: impugnar un testamento en Florida.
About this page. Author and reviewer: Jose M. Lorenzo, Jr., Florida Bar No. 107002, in practice in the state since 2013. Every statute cited was read against the Florida Statutes, and the Hillsborough County courthouse locations, will-deposit procedure and Elder Justice Center function confirmed against the Clerk of the Circuit Court and the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, on August 6, 2026.
This page offers general information about Florida law and does not constitute legal advice for a specific case. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every estate turns on its own facts, and the law changes.