This is my running list of significant Florida trusts-and-estates related appellate opinions for 2020. If you think I’ve missed an important case that deserves wider notice, please let me know. As new decisions are published I’ll add them to the list. The cases listed below are hyper-linked to the court’s original opinion and any commentary I may have written about the case. Click here for prior years.
- In Re: Estate of John E. Robinson, — So.3d —-, 2020 WL 697795 (Fla. 3d DCA February 12, 2020) (paternity actions in probate; statute of limitations)
- Lopez v. Hernandez, 291 So.3d 1007 (Fla. 5th DCA February 28, 2020) (fee shifting in probate; personal liability; charging liens)
- Heritage Foundation v. Schmid, 291 So.3d 1018 (Fla. 2d DCA March 06, 2020) (fee shifting in will reformation/modification cases)
- Sacha Zaidman and Patricia Zaidman v. Natchaya Zaidman, — So.3d —-, 2020 WL 1696316 (Fla. 3d DCA April 08, 2020) (Belgian will not valid in Florida)
- Warner v. Quicken Loans, Inc., 2020 WL 2097981 (M.D. Fla. May 01, 2020 Slip Copy) (fixing broken homestead orders)
- Erlandsson v. Erlandsson, 296 So.3d 431 (Fla. 4th DCA May 06, 2020) (right to counsel in contested guardianship proceedings)
- Demircan v. Mikhaylov, — So.3d —- 2020 WL 2550067 (Fla. 3d DCA May 20, 2020) (common law trust modification)
- In re Guardianship of Bloom, — So.3d —-, 2020 WL 2892390 (Fla. 2d DCA June 03, 2020) (paying fees from trust in guardianship proceedings)
- Wallace v. Comprehensive Personal Care Services, Inc., — So.3d —-, 2020 WL 2893658 (Fla. 3d DCA June 03, 2020) (trustee removal; mandatory trust rules)
- Lefkowitz v. Schwartz, — So.3d —-, 2020 WL 3115998 (Fla. 5th DCA June 12, 2020) (priority of creditor claims)
- Silva v. de la Noval, 307 So.3d 131 2020 WL 4197378 (Fla. 3d DCA July 22, 2020) (constructive trust as remedy)
- Schlossberg v. Estate of Kaporovsky, — So.3d —-, 2020 WL 4496139 (Fla. 4th DCA August 05, 2020) (deeds to/from revocable trusts)
- Moore & Co., P.A. v. Kallop, 17-CV-24181-DPG, 2020 WL 4505645 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 5, 2020) (probate exception; federal diversity jurisdiction)
- Habal v. Habal, — So.3d —-, 2020 WL 5372289 (Fla. 4th DCA September 09, 2020) (revocable trusts; no pre-death challenges)
- De La Riva v. Chavez, — So.3d —-, 2020 WL 5372283 (Fla. 4th DCA September 09, 2020) (“estate” is not a party in litigation)
- In re Givans, 623 B.R. 635 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Sept. 30, 2020) (can joint trust hold TBE property)
- Giat v. SCI Funeral Services of Florida, LLC, 308 So.3d 642, 2020 WL 7239589 (Fla. 4th DCA December 09, 2020) (burial dispute)
- Mellini v. Paulucci, 310 So.3d 123 (Fla. 5th DCA December 18, 2020) (unilateral mistake; creditor claims)
- Baldwin v. Harris, 309 So.3d 293, 2020 WL 7410297 (Fla. 5th DCA December 18, 2020) (contested prenuptial agreement)
- In re Abud Valech, 2020 WL 8919124 (S.D. Fla. December 31, 2020) (Section 1782 discovery; probate litigation)