In January and February 2016, F+B attorneys  won back to back trial victories in two different cases that had the same issue.  In both cases, F+B’s clients were attempting to probate a Will more than 4 years after the date of the Decedent’s death.  Generally, it is not possible to probate a Will more than 4 years later, but an exception exists if you are probating the Will as a Muniment of Title only.  However, in order to successfully do that, the client must show that they were “not in default” for having failed to present the Will within the 4 year period following the death.

In both of these cases, opposing parties were alleging that Ford + Bergner’s clients defaulted by failing to present the Wills earlier.  In the first case, the Decedent had died 7 years earlier, and in the second case, the Decedent had died 12 years earlier.  Ford + Bergner successfully proved that his clients were not in default, and each Will was admitted by the Court to probate.

Although there are restrictions on getting a Will admitted to probate when more than 4 years has elapsed, Ford + Bergner has the expertise to assist our clients in clearing those hurdles.