Adrian P. Thomas

Top rated Estate & Trust Litigation attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

The Law Offices of Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A.
Adrian P. Thomas
The Law Offices of Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A.

Practice areas: Estate & Trust Litigation

Licensed in Florida since: 1993

Education: Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law

Selected to Super Lawyers: 2025 - 2026

The Law Offices of Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A.

1000 Corporate Dr
Suite 300
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334 Phone: 954-764-7273 Email: Adrian P. Thomas Visit website

The Law Offices of Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A. is a Florida probate law firm located in downtown Fort Lauderdale, where the attorneys specialize in Estate and Trust Litigation.

The lawyers at our firm represent clients with all types of estate, will, trust, and probate litigation issues, particularly those involving will contests, probate litigation, Undue Influence Law in Florida, trust disputes, trust termination, Florida elective share litigation and lack of mental capacity lawsuits.

Adrian Philip Thomas – Florida Probate Lawyer/Managing Partner of the Law Firm

Mr. Thomas is a well-respected Florida probate attorney and is the managing partner of this boutique, nine-attorney Fort Lauderdale law firm. Mr. Thomas has over 30 years of experience in Florida probate law and the representation of individuals, heirs, beneficiaries, and family members adversely affected by an honest mistake, by a misunderstanding, or by outright fraud and dishonest behavior.

Florida Probate Lawyers Concentrating their Practices in Probate Litigation Matters

First Admitted: 1993, Florida

Professional Webpage: https://www.florida-probate-lawyer.com/about-us/adrian-p-tho...

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

Videos

Special Licenses / Certifications

  • Master of Laws Estate Planning, 2000

Educational Background

  • University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida     Master of Laws in Estate Planning, 2000Nova Southeastern University Law Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida     Juris Doctor, 1993University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida     Bachelor of Science, Political Science, 1990

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

Other Outstanding Achievements

  • Jury review in undue influence case may be a first                         Daniel McGowan and Adrian Thomas  It's a common story that often lands in probate court. An older gentleman, just months from death, suddenly changes his will and the beneficiaries of his bank accounts and trusts, disinheriting his family in favor of a friend. But Adrian Thomas and Daniel A. McGowan of Fort Lauderdale-based Adrian Phillip Thomas, got an uncommon result last week in Hillsborough Circuit Court. They won a jury verdict in favor of their clients. "It may be the first ever jury verdict in an undue influence case challenging a trust," Thomas said. "If it stands, we may have a whole new set of options for senior citizens who have been exploited." Cases claiming someone exerted undue influence over another person generally are decided by probate judges. The trial was before Circuit Judge Sam D. Pendino, who is assigned to civil cases. Thomas and McGowan argued, on behalf of Katherine Willis, that her father was incapacitated by Alzheimer's disease when he took her out of his will and changed the beneficiary on 16 accounts and a trust that held the family home, making his girlfriend, Mary Couch, his sole beneficiary. Tort V. Probate The family presented the jury with autopsy results showing Winfield Willis was suffering from Alzheimer's when he made the changes a few months before he died in October 2009, McGowan said. Couch's attorney, Christopher Paul Jayson of Jayson Farthing Skafidas & Wright in Tampa, Jayson did not return a call for comment by deadline. McGowan said Jayson argued Winfield Willis knew what he was doing and did it after getting into a fight with his daughter. But McGowan said he and Thomas were able to show from Couch's own emails around that time that no such fight ever happened. "This was a complete break from his long-standing estate plan, done as he was dying," McGowan said. "I told the jury ... that they were going to have the opportunity to set something right and do justice. This guy was taken advantage of." Michael Schlesinger, a Miami attorney who specializes in probate law, agreed the jury verdict was unusual. "Typically undue influence is not a case that goes to a jury," said Schlesinger of Schlesinger & Cotzen. "It would be a deviation from accepted law. I think it's newsworthy. As far as its reach in probate litigation, I can't predict. It's going to be interesting to see if this case is taken up and what the courts decide." McGowan said they were able to get the undue influence issue before a jury by arguing that when Couch got Winfield Willis to change his accounts, trust and will, she interfered with what Katherine Willis had a right to inherit, a tort claim that typically goes to juries. "Because we brought it with the tort claim, the judge allowed the jury to hear it," McGowan said. There are advantages to jury trials. "With a jury, you can tell a good story on behalf of a sympathetic client," Schlesinger said. "Typically, with a judge, it's hard to get them emotionally involved in the case." Thomas and McGowan hope to use the Jan. 20 jury verdict to persuade the probate judge to remove Couch as Winfield Willis' personal representative, challenge his final will disinheriting his daughter and recover assets transferred to Couch. They estimate Kathy Willis is due an inheritance totalling $3.5 million. The jury verdict involved assets of about $850,000, including the family home in Virginia where she and her father grew up, McGowan said. "The value of the home to Kathy is more than any amount of money," he said

Honors

  • Mr. Thomas received the “AV Preeminent Attorney” rating by Martindale-Hubbell signifying the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards.  Mr. Thomas has also been selected as one of Florida’s Legal Elite by Florida Trend Magazine in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, 2014
  • Master of Laws in Estate Planning, University of Miami, 2000

Industry Groups

  • Estate And Probate Litigation
  • Trust

Office location for Adrian P. Thomas

1000 Corporate Dr
Suite 300
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334

Selections

2 Years Super Lawyers
  • Super Lawyers: 2025 - 2026

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