Formal Notice Can Be Served On An Attorney Who Has Never Appeared of Record.

Posted on April 22, 2005 by Juan Antunez

Parker v. Estate of Bealer, 890 So.2d 508 (Fla. 4 DCA January 5, 2005) (TRIAL COURT AFFIRMED)

The key issue in this case was whether an interested person's attorney had to actually file a notice of appearance in the probate proceedings before he or she would be deemed to be "the attorney representing [the] interested person" for purposes of Probate Rule 5.040(a)(3)(A)(i) (Formal Notice) and Probate Code Section 731.301 (Notice). Palm Beach Circuit Court Judge Mary E. Lupo ruled that filing a notice of appearance in the probate proceedings was not required.

The 4th DCA affirmed the trial court's ruling on the grounds that formal notice to a party's attorney constitutes service on the party if (1) notice is served on an attorney who has entered an appearance of record in the estate or if (2) notice is served on an attorney specifically designated by the party to be served. Just to make sure the trial court's ruling would stick, the 4th DCA also held that based on the evidence presented in this case the party challenging the service of notice was equitably estopped from denying that the her designated attorney represented her for purpose of the estate proceedings in Florida.
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