Samad v. Pla, — So.3d —-, 2019 WL 1212338 (Fla. 2d DCA March 15, 2019)
One of the basic building blocks of Florida probate law is the mandatory life estate in homestead property all surviving spouses are entitled to …
Is a “notarial will” that’s valid in Haiti also valid in Florida?
Rizk v. Rizk, — So.3d —-, 2018 WL 6321228 (Fla. 3d DCA December 4, 2018)
In civil-law jurisdictions (such as Haiti) wills are prepared under the supervision of a notary acting in a quasi-judicial capacity that has no counterpart …
Are the rules for personal jurisdiction different in probate?
Sampson Farm Limited Partnership v. Parmenter, 238 So.3d 387 (Fla. 3d DCA January 17, 2018)
Non-resident parties can’t be pulled into Florida litigation if they don’t have the kind of “minimum contacts” with this state necessary to satisfy our …
Can a Florida probate judge order you to turn over property located in Canada?
Schanck v. Gayhart, — So.3d —- 2018 WL 1999841 (Fla. 1st DCA April 30, 2018)
In contested probate proceedings, if someone’s asserting a jurisdictional defense it’s probably coming up in one of two contexts. Either your judge lacked personal …
Must all probate disclaimers of real estate contain legal descriptions?
Lee v. Lee, 263 So.3d 826 (Fla. 3d DCA January 23, 2019)
A “disclaimer” is essentially a refusal of a gift or bequest, and you typically see them in the context of postmortem estate planning. For example, if …
Is half a signature enough to validly execute a will?
Bitetzakis v. Bitetzakis, — So.3d —-, 2019 WL 405568 (Fla. 2d DCA February 01, 2019)
Will execution formalities are second nature to most of us, but it never hurts to go back to basics.
Under F.S. 732.502, a …
When can you reopen a Florida probate proceeding?
When it comes to probate proceedings, there’s a strong public policy favoring finality, even it means valid claims sometimes get sacrificed. For example, F.S. 733.903 tells us that once a probate proceeding is closed, it won’t be reopened because sometime …
What’s it take to haul an Illinois estate planner into a Florida courtroom for malpractice?
Lindenau v. Lundeen, 2018 WL 1152403 (M.D. Florida March 05, 2018)
Florida remains the largest recipient of state-to-state migration in the US, and the top choice among retirees.
Not surprisingly, many of these transplants are slow to …
Does Florida’s “delayed discovery doctrine” apply to undue influence claims?
Flanzer v. Kaplan, — So.3d —- 2017 WL 5759041 (Fla. 2d DCA November 29, 2017)
Your favorite probate lawyer calls; she’s got a potential trust case for you, but isn’t sure if it’s time barred.
You’d think something as …
If you kill someone in self defense, can you still collect on their life insurance policy?
Stephenson v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 2016 WL 6568085 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 4, 2016)
If you murder someone, you can’t collect on their life insurance policy. This is one of several iterations of the common-law “slayer rule…