Litigants erred on appellate jurisdiction in will contest

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted June 15, 2020 10:14 AM

In an appeal from an order that denied a motion to vacate the dismissal of a will contest for want of prosecution, the plaintiff (A. Steven Young) and defendants (Suzanne Wieland and Alexander Stuard Young III) all agreed that the appellate court had jurisdiction — but a 2nd District Appellate Court panel disagreed.Steven, Suzanne and Alexander were three of Mary A. Young’s four children. Six weeks before Mary died, she signed a new will leaving all her assets to Suzanne. The new will was admitted to the probate division …

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