Living in Brazil, Domiciled in Florida: How the Third DCA Decided Where a Decedent’s Estate Belongs

A pilot split his life between a Coconut Grove condo and a business empire in Brazil. When he died in a São Paulo plane crash, his daughters and his widow went to war over a single question with enormous stakes: where was he really from?

The case reads like an estate-planning cautionary tale. The decedent was a pilot and entrepreneur who lived a genuinely transnational life. In Florida, he owned a Coconut Grove condominium through a single-member LLC. In Brazil, he held interests in three companies, owned four aircraft, and controlled five single-family homes. He had family, schooling decisions, and a sales contract all pulling in different directions across two continents.

After he died in an amphibious aircraft crash in São Paulo in 2023, two camps formed. His widow — also the personal representative of his estate — opened domiciliary probate in Florida. His adult daughters pushed back, arguing he was domiciled in Brazil and that Florida should only host ancillary administration. The trial court sided with the widow. On appeal, the daughters argued the Florida-domicile finding lacked competent, substantial evidence. The Third DCA was, in its own word, “not so persuaded,” and affirmed.

Why does domicile matter so much in probate?

Domicile decides which jurisdiction runs the primary estate administration. Domiciliary probate is the main event — it governs the bulk of administration. Ancillary administration is the supporting act, typically used to handle property located in a state where the decedent was not domiciled. Whoever wins the domicile fight effectively chooses the home forum, the controlling procedures, and a great deal of strategic leverage.

Florida law draws a sharp line between two concepts people routinely confuse:

• Residence — simply where you live.
• Domicile — your usual place of dwelling combined with the intent to make it your permanent home. Critically, you can have many residences but only one domicile.

“Residence in fact, coupled with the purpose to make the place of residence one’s home, are the essential elements of domicile.”

The decisive rule: the presumption of continuing domicile

This is the legal engine that drove the outcome, and it’s the part worth memorizing. Under Florida law, once a domicile is established, it is presumed to continue until a new one is acquired. The burden falls on whoever claims it changed — here, the daughters.

And that burden has two parts. To prove the decedent swapped his Florida domicile for a Brazilian one, the daughters had to show both:

1. An actual change of residence to Brazil; and
2. A present intention not to return to Florida — an intent to remain in Brazil permanently or indefinitely.

As the courts have long phrased it, the mere intention to acquire a new domicile without actually removing avails nothing — and actual removal without the intention to remain accomplishes nothing either. You need both. Travel, even extensive travel, does not break domicile.

What evidence persuaded the court he stayed a Floridian?

Florida uses a totality-of-the-circumstances test, and the trial court had a substantial pile of undisputed facts pointing to Florida. The appellate court found the trial judge was well within his discretion.

The daughters countered with their own facts: he traveled to Brazil constantly to run his businesses, moved his family back to Brazil in January 2023 and enrolled the children in Brazilian schools, and spent only about ten days of 2023 in Florida. He had even listed the Coconut Grove condo for sale and signed a contract on it.

Those facts weren’t ignored — but they weren’t enough to overcome the presumption. The widow testified the Brazil move was temporary, that he planned to return to Florida within 180 days, and that the family was already considering relocating from Coconut Grove to the greater Orlando area, consistent with the planned condo sale, just before his death. The court read the school enrollment and condo ownership as historical evidence of Florida domicile, not proof of a permanent move to Brazil.

The address trap: why “last known address” didn’t decide it

One detail litigators should bookmark. In the Brazilian proceedings the widow herself had listed the decedent’s last address as being in São Paulo. The daughters seized on it. The court swatted it away in a footnote: a last-known address does not necessarily equate to domicile. You can reside somewhere — even list it as your address — without being domiciled there. Listing a Brazil address did not control the analysis.

The standard of review (and why appeals like this rarely win)

This is the quiet reason the daughters lost. A domicile determination is a fact-intensive finding. On appeal, factual findings are reviewed only for competent, substantial evidence — not re-weighed from scratch. The appellate court does not ask whether it would have decided the same way; it asks whether the record reasonably supports what the trial judge found. With a driver’s license, visa, Green Card, insurance, tax filings, and stored possessions all in Florida, that bar was comfortably cleared.

Practical takeaways for estate planners and cross-border families

For snowbirds, expats, and EB-5 / immigrant investors

Domicile is sticky. If you’ve built a Florida domicile — license, immigration status, taxes, possessions — extended time abroad won’t quietly erase it. That can be a feature or a trap depending on your goals. If you genuinely intend to change domicile, document the intent and the actual move; ambiguity defaults to the old domicile.

For litigators contesting domicile

If you’re the one arguing domicile changed, you carry a two-part burden against a presumption that actively works against you. Anchoring your case on travel patterns and day-counts — without hard proof of a present intent never to return — is a losing posture. You need affirmative evidence of permanence.

For personal representatives

Be deliberate about how you describe the decedent’s address in any filing, including foreign ones. Inconsistent statements get exploited — though, as this case shows, an address alone won’t sink a well-supported domicile finding.

Frequently asked questions

Can someone be domiciled in Florida even if they were living abroad when they died?

Yes. This case is the clearest illustration: a decedent physically living in Brazil at death was held to be domiciled in Florida, because Florida domicile was established years earlier and no one proved he abandoned it with intent to remain in Brazil permanently.

What is the presumption of continuing domicile?

Once a domicile is established, the law presumes it continues until a new one is acquired. The party claiming it changed must prove both an actual change of residence and a present intention not to return to the original domicile.

What evidence proves Florida domicile in a probate dispute?

Courts weigh a totality of factors: driver’s license, immigration status (visa/Green Card), vehicle insurance, where personal property is stored, where income taxes are paid as a resident, voter registration, homestead exemptions, business affairs, and days spent in the state.

Does a person’s last known address determine their domicile?

No. The court held an address does not necessarily equate to domicile. You can reside in — or list — a place without being domiciled there.

What’s the difference between domiciliary and ancillary probate?

Domiciliary probate is the primary administration in the state of the decedent’s domicile. Ancillary administration is a secondary proceeding used to handle property in a state where the decedent was not domiciled. The domicile finding decides which is which.

Case: Luiza Mara Reis Dos Santos Fernandes de Oliveira v. Natalia Palagi Fernandes de Oliveira, No. 3D25-0855 (Fla. 3d DCA May 13, 2026), affirming the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County.

de Olveira v. de Oliveira, ---- So.3d --- (Fla. 3rd DCA 2026); 2026 WL 1317885

Probate litigation cases can turn on complex questions like domicile, jurisdiction, and intent. Speak with our team at (954) 764-7273 to protect your interests in an estate dispute.

This article is general commentary on a published appellate decision and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. For guidance on a specific domicile or probate matter, consult a licensed Florida attorney. Quotations are drawn from the published opinion and longstanding Florida authority.