Basile v. Aldrich, — So.3d —-, 2011 WL 3696309 (Fla. 1st DCA August 23, 2011)
At one time—under the Florida statute of wills of 1828, in force until the Revised Statutes took effect on June 13, 1892—a will was …
Theory vs. reality: what’s it take to fix a drafting error in a trust agreement?
Reid v. In re Estate of Sonder, — So.3d —-, 2011 WL 1007137 (Fla. 3d DCA Mar 23, 2011)
The last time I wrote about this case the issue was whether a trustee, acting solely in her capacity as …
3d DCA: Are gifts to in-laws saved by Florida’s anti-lapse statute?
Lorenzo v. Medina, — So.3d —-, 2010 WL 4483470 (Fla. 3d DCA Nov 10, 2010)
At common law, lapse occurs when the beneficiary or the “devisee” under a will predeceases the testator, invalidating the gift. The gift would instead …
In will-construction dispute, 5th DCA says NO to stepmother’s attempted disinheritance of former husband’s children
Timmons v. Ingraham, — So.3d —-, 2010 WL 2217637 (Fla. 5th DCA Jun 04, 2010)
As reported here by the WSJ, "When it comes to blended families, estate planning can be a special kind of hell." A corollary to that …
2d DCA: Employing beneficiaries as service providers to boost access to trust funds
Burgess v. Prince, — So.3d —-, 2010 WL 199422 (Fla. 2d DCA Jan. 22, 2010)
Access to trust funds is usually a zero-sum game: If I pay trust funds to one party, there’s less money for everyone else. We …
3d DCA: Will Construction Litigation as Morality Play
Chin v. Estate of Chin, — So.3d —-, 2009 WL 2382326 (Fla. 3d DCA Aug 05, 2009)
Will construction litigation is supposed to be all about figuring out what the dry words on a piece of paper called a …
3d DCA: What’s the right way to litigate an ambiguous will?
Garcia v. Celestron, — So.2d —-, 2009 WL 249211 (Fla. 3d DCA Feb 04, 2009)
In the linked-to opinion the 3d DCA provides a solid summary of the procedural steps and law governing adjudications of ambiguous wills in Florida. …
4th DCA: So what’s a specific bequest?
Babcock v. Estate of Babcock, — So.2d —-, 2008 WL 4863088 (Fla. 4th DCA Nov 12, 2008)
Any probate lawyer worth his or her salt will tell you that reading a person’s will is often just the tip of the iceberg. …
Does a beneficiary’s death divest his estate of its interest in the assets of a trust that remained to be distributed?
Bryan v. Dethlefs, — So.2d —-, 2007 WL 1425499 (Fla. 3d DCA May 16, 2007)
In this case the beneficiary of his predeceased grandfather’s trust died before the trust assets were fully distributed to him. The subsequent litigation revolved around this …
How to validly devise a life estate in a tenenats-in-common real property interest
Morgan v. Cornell, — So.2d —-, 2006 WL 2987107, 31 Fla. L. Weekly D2632 (Fla. 2d DCA Oct 20, 2006)
Estate planning and probate litigation are two sides of the same coin. The planner needs to understand the underlying …