Probate Litigation

June 5, 2015

Jury rules against Wells Fargo and awards beneficiary $77 million

In St. Louis County, a jury awarded Barbara Morriss $77 million for mismanaging her family’s trust. The court agreed the bank breached its fiduciary duty, the duty to act in the beneficiary’s best interest, by failing to fully disclose significant financial transactions that allowed the trusts to lose millions of dollars

Barbara Morriss first learned of her trust’s lost assets when her credit card was declined at a local department store in 2011. Her son is a venture capitalist named B. Douglas Morriss, and was recently sentenced to five years in prison for tax evasion in 2013. Through his companies and others, B. Douglas Morriss and partners raised millions before the companies filed for bankruptcy with more than $35 million in debt. Continue reading

June 2, 2015

How to remove a personal representative in Florida

by David M. Goldman

In Florida, a personal representative is required to administer the estate of the deceased. Usually, this person is named in the estate owner’s will, and is someone the estate owner trusts to transfer his or her assets to friends and loved ones. If the person does not have a will, or does not appoint a representative, the court will appoint one. The question then becomes what if the person is not fit to serve as the personal representative? The Florida Probate Code provides some guidelines on how to remove a personal representative.

First, it’s important to understand the rules of how a court appoints a personal representative. If the deceased died without a will, or died with a valid will but did not name a personal representative or grant anyone the power to appoint a personal representative, then the personal representative is appointed by an order of preference as set forth in Florida Statute § 733.301.

Usually for a person without a will, the court will appoint the spouse to serve as the personal representative. If the spouse is not available, the court will appoint the person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs, or the heirs nearest in degree. If more than one of these rules apply, the court may select the person best qualified to administer.

June 1, 2015

BB King Heirs to Challenge his Will

by David M. Goldman

BB King’s heirs have alleged the blues legend’s business manager has misappropriated millions of dollars and unduly influenced his estate. A lawyer representing BB King’s heirs told the press the heirs would seek to challenge the will and the actions of the manager as undue influence.

The law allows the heirs of an estate to challenge wills in cases of undue influence, fraud, or mental incapacity. The heirs of BB King’s estate have long suspected King’s manager La Verne Toney had misappropriated millions of dollars and had undue influence over his estate planning decisions. The law requires the testator to pass away before his estate or will can be challenged. Therefore, the heirs of BB King’s estate were unable to challenge the alleged undue influence until now.

Undue influence is where a beneficiary, or other party with standing, alleges a third person has so influenced the testator’s mind by persuasion that the testator did not act voluntarily when executing his will.

In Florida, the person challenging a will under a theory of “undue influence” has the burden to establish the presumption of undue influence. This means that the person being accused is given the benefit of the doubt that he or she acted appropriately unless some evidence shows otherwise. The elements of showing undue influence are: Continue reading

May 29, 2015

Florida’s Probate and Trust Codes, 2015 Amendments Regarding Attorney’s Fees

by David M. Goldman

In Florida, the Florida Probate Code and the Florida Trust code govern the administration of estates and trusts. These codes establish the rules and procedures for all probate matters such as the administration of a will. The Florida Legislature has recently amended the Florida Probate Codes.

Attorneys Fees and Costs

Both the probate and trust codes provide that an attorney who has provided services to an estate or trust may be awarded reasonable compensation. The latest update to the codes has been in response to inconsistent application of these laws which used to require there be a finding of “bad faith, wrongdoing, or frivolousness” in order to award a party attorney’s fees and costs. The codes have now eliminated this vague language and have enumerated a list of factors that a court should use when deciding to award attorneys’ fees in a case. These considerations allow a court to even direct, in its discretion, from which part of the estate or trust attorney’s fees and costs may be paid.

May 26, 2015

How does the probate process work in Florida?

by David M. Goldman

In Florida, the assets of an estate can be transferred in three different ways upon the death of the estate owner. Some assets are transferred freely without a court’s approval by contractual terms. A court will also provide limited administration for an estate worth under $75,000. Finally, there is a formal administration for large estates without a valid will. A lengthy probate is not always necessary if the owner of the estate has a will that dictates how a person’s assets are to be distrusted upon his or her death.

Assets that Avoid Probate

There are some types of property that can be transferred to a new owner without a probate court’s approval. One of the most common types of non-probate property is property that is owned by multiple people in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship or as tenants by the entireties. This property is usually owned by married couples such as a car or house.

October 28, 2014

Florida Probate Intake form

by David M. Goldman

Many of our clients have asked us to put our Florida Probate Intake form online so that they can easily download it. You can download the Florida Probate Intake form with the following link: Probate Intake Form.pdf

September 29, 2014

If a person dies intestate what proof must their children show the court to prove they are the heirs to the estate?

by David M. Goldman

Most Florida probate courts simply accept the information contained in the pleadings that are filed with the court. These pleadings are usually signed “under penalties of perjury”.

Some courts (such as Citrus Count and Miami-Dade County) often require an Affidavit of Heirs.pdf to be filed along with the pleadings. There really is no other independent evidence that is required to prove who the beneficiaries are.

When a rightful heir has been omitted from the pleadings, it is important to act timely. Sometimes, there are people who are included that should not receive a portion of the estate.

July 17, 2014

Can a surviving spouse claim loss of consortium after the other spouse dies?

by David M. Goldman

A recent ruling by the Fifth Florida Appellate Court on Friday allows surviving spouses to claim loss of consortium separately from others claims after the spouse dies.

The surviving spouse Margaret Randall filed the case, Randall v. Walt Disney World Co., in 2006 after her husband Barry Randall allegedly suffered injuries to his head and neck from riding a roller coaster. Besides personal injuries, Ms. Randall also claims loss of consortium. Loss of consortium is the inability of one spouse to have normal martial relations. Judges will sometimes award the surviving spouse damages for his or her loss of intimacy with their spouse.

The issue here was could Mrs. Randall claim loss of consortium after her husband died. Mr. Randall died shortly after the lawsuit was filed, which Mrs. Randall claims was a result from the rollercoaster injury. In Florida, the rules of civil procedure requires that when a party in a lawsuit dies a personal representative of the deceased’s estate must be substituted within 90 days. This is a rather harsh rule that must be performed on time or else the deceased party will be dismissed from the lawsuit.

July 15, 2014

Estate Planning: The Risk of Creating Your Own Will. Is it valid?

by David M. Goldman

The Florida Supreme Court recently decided the long and costly case of a deceased woman who tried to write her own Will using an online legal form.

In Aldrich, v. Basile, Ann Aldrich used a pre-printed legal form to draft a Will. She did this most likely to avoid paying an estate-planning attorney. This Florida Supreme Court Decision resulted in costly legal fees and most likely years of anguish for her family.

Deciding who would inherit Ann Aldrich’s property was appealed twice, which was finally decided by the Florida Supreme Court. The court’s decision of who would inherit the property was most likely not what the deceased had intended. Justice Pariente wrote in her concurring opinion the result of the court’s decision came not from the interpretation of Florida law but from Ann’s mistake of using an online form that did not adequately express her specific needs.

June 6, 2014

Probate Law: Can a spouse be disinherited from a will?

by David M. Goldman

Modern estate planning has changed with the fabric of the modern American family. It is more common to now see scenarios such as estranged parents who stay married to raise children, or even married couples that live their lives completely separated from each other. A common question asked by many clients is can a spouse be disinherited from a will?

The general rule is that when a person makes a will they are able to dictate who receives their property after death. However, in Florida it may be very difficult to disinherit your spouse.

Even if the spouse and decedent are separated, the decedent’s surviving spouse is entitled to elect thirty percent of the decedent’s elective estate. This law was enacted to protect the surviving spouse from being left with nothing. The only way to circumvent an elective share would require a prenuptial, postnuptial agreement, or remove assets from the elective share. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can waive the surviving spouse’s right to receive a portion of the elective share.