Ademption: Specific Gifts Not Owned At Time of Will Execution Do Not Adeem

Ademption is a probate concept wherein a determination is made as to the disposition of property gifted under a person’s will, but not in existence (or not in the person’s probate estate) when the person dies.
For specific property, the general rule is that the property is adeemed, and the gift fails. For example, if a person gifts a piece of jewelry to a specific person, but the jewelry was not owned by the person at the time of her death, the gift would be adeemed and the person would receive no gift at all. However, a general gift, usually cash gifts, is never adeemed. If there is not enough money in the probate estate to satisfy the gift, then other assets in the residuary estate are liquidated or sold to raise the money necessary to satisfy the gift. (more…)

Second District Court of Appeals Finds Old Trust Code Inapplicable to Action Based on Undue Influence and Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Notes Distinction Between Concepts of Venue and Jurisdiction

Frequently, when representing trust beneficiaries or trustees, I encounter a defensive argument that Florida isn’t the proper venue for the trust litigation. Venue is the legal concept of the appropriate location for a lawsuit to be heard by a Court.

Venue is a concept distinct from jurisdiction, which focuses on the authority of a court to hear a particular case. Venue is concerned with the geographical location of the court where a lawsuit is commenced. However, unlike personal jurisdiction, there is no constitutional requirement for proper venue in order to have a valid judgment. (more…)

Fourth District Court of Appeals Reverses Broward County Probate Judge’s Order Requiring Trustee and Lawyer to Repay Fees to the Estate. Wintter & Associates, P.A. v. Terry Kanowsky, . 33 Fla. L. Weekly D2471a; — So.2d —-, 2008 WL 4643358 (Fla.App. 4 Dist, October 22, 2008.).

David Mercer, the executor of the Estate of Blanche Heische, and trustee of the Sixth Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust of Blanche Heische testamentary trust, submitted his final accounting to Broward County Probate Judge Mel Grossman. Because the trustee had performed what he considered “extraordinary” services in connection with work to clear title to a parcel of real property devised to him through the testator’s will, the trustee included extraordinary fees in his accounting. The residual beneficiary of the trust, Terry Kanowsky, objected to the “extraordinary” fee request in the accounting. Following an evidentiary hearing, Broward County Probate Judge Mel Grossman determined that the trustee was not entitled to extraordinary fees and costs and ordered the trustee and law firm to repay them to the probate estate. (more…)

Lost Will: Evidence Has To Be Sufficient to Overcome Presumption that Will Was Revoked When It Cannot Be Located After Death.

On October 1, 2008, The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed a Broward County Probate Court ruling in Balboni vs. LaRocque 33 Fla.L.Weekly D2314a ( 4th District. Case No. 4D07-3991. October 1, 2008) holding that the evidence presented was legally insufficient to rebut the presumption of intentional revocation. (more…)