IN RE: ESTATE OF LOUISE HATTEN, ANTOINETTE TARTAGLIA, JEANETTE KIDD, and ANTHONY HATTEN, Appellants, vs. LOUIS HATTEN, individually, Appellee., 880 So. 2d 1271

Summary

The decedent had seven siblings. She showed one of her sister's her will, which disinherited two brothers and a nephew. She allegedly told another sister about the disinheritance. Three months later, she died. The day after her death, one of the sisters, a brother, and a neighbor went to decedent's home, where the brother located and left with decedent's personal papers. He then filed for administration and was named the personal representative of decedent's intestate estate. The sisters then filed suit alleging interference with a testamentary expectancy and claiming that the brother destroyed the will. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the brother. On appeal, the court reversed and remanded, finding that summary judgment was not proper because the brother had carried away the decedent's personal papers without letting anyone else examine them. The decedent's will left the brother one dollar, but under intestate succession he would inherit approximately $ 100,000. ...