Florida Probate Blog

In re: Estate of Lillian L. Unanue (43 Fla.L.Weekly D70a) – On November 17, 2016, the co-personal representatives of the Estate of Lillian Unanue (“Estate”) filed a final accounting and petition for discharge.  The documents were served on the beneficiaries, including Robert and George Unanue.  The probate court entered an order of discharge on December 5, 2016, just 18 days after the petition was filed.  Subsequently, on December 16, 2016, Robert and George filed timely objections to the final accounting and petition for discharge, but the estate was already closed.  In the appeal, Robert and George sought reversal of the order of discharge because it was entered prematurely and curtailed their right to object to the accounting.  The Second District Court of Appeal agreed, citing Florida Probate Rule 5.400(b)(6), which states, in pertinent part, that “any objections to the accounting, the compensation paid or proposed to be paid, or the […]

In Florida, a person is not qualified to act as personal representative of a decedent’s estate if the person has been convicted of a felony.  See, Fla.Stat. 733.303.  In a recent opinion, the Fourth District Court of Appeals recently upheld the trial court’s denial of a father’s petition for administration of his daughter’s estate. (See, In re: Estate of Sharonda Renae Butler, 41 Fla.L.Weekly D979a.) The father claimed that because he was the sole heir that his prior felony conviction, which disqualifies him under the statute, should not disqualify him in his daughter’s estate.  The trial court disagreed and the Fourth DCA sided with the trial court.   Although the father’s position is understandable from a beneficiary’s view point – that as the only beneficiary there is no one else to object to or be affected by his appointment as personal representative –  it also overlooks the other large class the Florida Probate […]

Ouch! Stinging Stipulations: Florida’s First District Court of Appeal reverses trial court’s appointment of personal representative of estate based on strict application of probate statute and the litigants’ own stipulation. As a probate litigation attorney, I frequently stipulate to a variety of things as a matter of professional courtesy and/or for judicial economy and efficiency. However, as the opinion released today by the First district Court of Appeal reminds us, stipulations have implications and consequences that are sometimes visible only to an experienced eye.