IN RE: ESTATE OF CLIFFORD P. KUSZMAUL, Deceased, 491 So. 2d 287

Summary

Upon rehearing its previous decision, the appeals court reconsidered whether the discovery of a conformed will with an executed codicil amongst a testator's belongings adequately rebutted the presumption that the testator had destroyed his original will. The court noted that the original will, last seen in the testator's possession, was never found. Instead, after the testator died, a conformed copy of the will and the original of the executed codicil were found together among the testator's possessions. The court held that the presumption that the testator destroyed the original will with the intention of revoking it was rebutted by competent, substantial evidence. The testator had told one of the beneficiaries that property bequeathed under the original will would be his someday. Furthermore, under Fla. Stat. chs. 732.5105 and 732.511 (1983), the legally executed codicil had the effect of republishing the original will. The court reversed the trial court's decision and remanded.