This is my running list of significant Florida trusts-and-estates related appellate opinions for 2025. 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.

  1. Palm Garden of Winter Haven, LLC v. Estate of Demps, 402 So.3d 1156 (Fla. 6th DCA February 07, 2025) (claims vs estate are not all creditor claims)
  2. Brush v. Coppelli, — So.3d —-, 2025 WL 495393 (Fla. 5th DCA February 14, 2025) (amount of PR’s personal liability for surcharge action)
  3. Reeves v. Gross, 403 So.3d 362 (Fla. 3d DCA January 29, 2025) (lucid interval; evidentiary presumption)
  4. Lieberman v. Sloto, — So.3d —- 2025 WL 699625 (Fla. 3d DCA March 05, 2025) (trust protectors)
  5. Markes v. Markes, — So.3d —- 2025 WL 1242092 (Fla. 4th DCA April 30, 2025) (probate jurisdiction; non-residents)
  6. Johnson v. Johnson, — So.3d —-, 2025 WL 131763 (Fla. 1st DCA May 7, 2025) (Homestead property; Lady Bird deed; revocable trust)
  7. Mastriana v. Brown Brothers Harriman Trust Company, — So.3d —-, 2025 WL 1386031 (Fla. 4th DCA May 14, 2025) (breach of trust claims; jury trials)
  8. Estate of Spizzirri v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, — F.4th —-, 2025 WL 1419545 (11th Cir. May 16, 2025) (inheritance received per marital agreement, deductible expense, taxable income)
  9. Hinson v. Hinson, — So.3d —-, 2025 WL 2922025 (Fla. 3d DCA October 15, 2025) (in-kind distributions)
  10. Minnesota Life Insurance Company v. Swicicki, Jr., et al., 2025 WL 3501068 (S.D. Fla. October 22, 2025) (life insurance; divorce)
  11. Johnson v. Wolter, — So.3d —- 2025 WL 3492871 (Fla. 6th DCA December 05, 2025) (attorney’s fees; breach of trust action)
  12. Dixon v. Green, — So.3d —-, 2025 WL 3491698 (Fla. 5th DCA December 05, 2025) (conflict of interest; FL Bar referral)
  13. Rivas v. Behar, Gutt & Glazer, P.A., — So.3d —-, 2025 WL 3533893 (Fla. 3d DCA December 10, 2025) (power to low-activity probate proceeding)
  14. Russell v. Mells, — So.3d —-, 2025 WL 3533637 (Fla. 2d DCA December 10, 2025) (fake AI cite; sanctions)
  15. Loumpos v. Bank One, — So.3d —-, 2025 WL 3546237 (Fla. December 11, 2025) (T/B/E bank accounts)