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…
When do you have to give notice if you’re trying to get your attorney’s fees paid from a trust under F.S. 736.1005?
In re Guardianship of Bloom, — So.3d —-, 2017 WL 2270124 (Fla. 2d DCA May 24, 2017)
If you’re the trustee of a trust, F.S. 736.0816(20) tells us you’re presumptively entitled to hire attorneys to help you do your …
So who gets to occupy the decedent’s contested real estate?
Delbrouck v. Eberling, — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 5948724 (Fla. 4th DCA October 14, 2015)
Contested probate proceedings often revolve around conflicting claims to specific property that’s titled in the decedent’s name but claimed by someone else.
If the …
Does a discretionary trust beneficiary have standing to challenge an adoption that could potentially dilute his interest in the trust?
Edwards v. Maxwell, — So.3d —-, 2017 WL 1201873 (Fla. 1st DCA March 31, 2017)
To understand this case you need to keep two basic points in mind.
First, adoptions are sometimes used to “add” individuals to the …