When Doctors Take the Stand: How Medical Experts Shape a Capacity Fight

When a will is attacked because its maker was supposedly too impaired to sign it, the case often becomes a contest between medical opinions. Experienced Pompano Beach estate litigation lawyers know that the strength of those opinions, and how closely they tie to the day of signing, can decide the outcome.

The Standard the Experts Must Address

Section 732.501, Florida Statutes, allows any person of sound mind who is 18 or older, or an emancipated minor, to make a will. Florida courts presume that a person had testamentary capacity, and the burden of overturning a will on this ground is a heavy one.

Capacity is generally described as the ability to understand, in a general way, three things: the nature and extent of the property being left, the person’s relationship to those who would naturally expect to benefit, and the practical effect of the will. It is measured at the moment the will is signed. A person with a declining memory can still sign a valid will during a lucid interval.

What Medical Experts Actually Do

Geriatric psychiatrists, neurologists, neuropsychologists, and treating physicians may all weigh in. Their work often includes reviewing:

• Medical records from before and after the signing date
• Medication lists and hospital notes from the same period
• Cognitive screening results and any dementia diagnosis
• Statements from the witnesses and lawyer present at the signing

A 2025 Appellate Decision Worth Studying

In a 2025 decision reported at 403 So. 3d 362, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment against a grandchild who challenged a will signed at age 100. The challenger’s psychiatric expert had never examined the decedent and relied on records to conclude that dementia and delirium were present. The court found that opinion fell short because it did not explain why documented lucid intervals could not have occurred. It added that a mere possibility of incapacity does not overcome the presumption, particularly when earlier plans carried the same disinheritance.

The lesson is that an expert opinion needs a fact-based chain of reasoning aimed at the signing date, not just a diagnosis near it.

That cuts both ways. Someone defending a will can lean on the same principle, pairing a physician’s records with testimony from the lawyer and witnesses who watched the signing. A challenger, meanwhile, should look for evidence close in time to the signing, such as a hospital stay, a medication change, or a cognitive screening completed days before or after. Opinions built on that kind of detail carry far more weight than broad statements about a person’s overall decline.

Whether you plan to challenge a will or defend one, gather the records now, before memories fade and files get lost. Send what you have to Mark R. Manceri, P.A. and we will help you figure out whether the medical evidence can carry the weight your case needs.

Source:

flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/732.501 https://flexlaw.co/case/376947/2025-garth-basil-reeves-v-gross-403-so-3d-362