Involved in an attorneys fee dispute in Florida, like, perhaps, a motion for attorneys fees in a Palm Beach probate or a Florida trust action? You may want to read a recent, October 29, 2014 Florida attorneys fee case which was just handed down by Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal.
Attorneys Fees in Palm Beach Lawsuits
- Florida’s appellate court in West Palm Beach is called the 4th District Court of Appeal.
- The 4th DCA hears appeals on Palm Beach, Martin County and Broward County probate cases as well as attorney fee cases
- In Palm Beach County, Florida, probate cases, guardianship cases and trust disputes often have a very important attorneys fee component to them
- Many times one side is seeking attorneys fees from the other side
- Why?
- Well, the Florida Probate Code has specific attorneys fees provisions, as does the Florida Trust Code
- That means that if you lose, you can end up paying the other side’s attorneys fees
- This X factor of paying the other side’s attorneys fees should be part of your probate litigation strategy for your Palm Beach case
Can I get my attorneys fees paid in my Palm Beach probate case?
- So, Florida Probate cases have these so called fee shifting statutes which can make you pay literally thousands and thousands of dollars if you lose your Palm Beach probate lawsuit or your trust case
- And in Palm Beach guardianships, there is great focus. You should not be spending the incapacitated person’s funds haphazardly on attorneys fees; nor should you expect that if you are “fighting” your sibling or step-parent in a guardianship trial Palm Beach, that you will automatically get reimbursed from the incompetent person’s (Ward’s) money. Be cautious
- So, many people want to know : can I get my attorneys fees paid in my Palm Beach probate case?
- Well, a recent 4th DCA case from a Broward County lawsuit involved not probate issues but a mortgage foreclosure case and a fee shifting statute: Florida’s 57.105 statute which can assess attorneys fees against another
5 Things You Need to Know about Attorneys Fees in Florida
- A Broward court’s ruling on a motion for attorneys fees is a “matter committed tosound discretion which will not be disturbed on appeal absent a showing of clear abuse of discretion“
- A claim for attorneys fees whether based on a Florida probate statute or a contract,must be pled
- A party seeking attorneys fees in a Palm Beach probate must also move the trial court for fees and present facts and evidence (proof of attorneys fees) within a reasonable time frame after the judgment is entered (note: the Florida rules of civil procedure are different than the Florida Probate Rules)
- Once you are entitled to attorneys fees in your Palm Beach case, you are entitled to anevidentiary hearing as to the reasonableness of attorneys fees. (Read: this is a mini-trial on attorneys fees requiring evidence).
- You need an expert to testify and present an expert opinion on the reasonableness of your fees. There was a recent West Palm Beach appeals court case which just re-confirmed the need for an expert.
- In the end, attorneys fee hearings in Palm Beach probate cases and Broward County lawsuits have almost become a mini industry.
- There are some very good probate litigators from Plantation, Florida to Boca Raton toJupiter, Florida who have been involved in many, many fee disputes.
- They are familiar with how Palm Beach probate courts proceed on these evidentiary hearings on Florida attorneys fees, and know how to introduce evidence and make their argument.
- Beyond getting an expert, your invoices and proving entitlement to attorneys fees and “reasonableness”, your trust litigation law firm should also use common sense to see what everyone can agree to.
- After all, it doesn’t make sense to pay your estate litigation lawyer Delray Beach $1,000 to fight over $500.
- The recent 4th DCA case is at 39 Florida Law Weekly D 2269, Mihalyi v. LaSalle Bank, N.A. Case No. 4D13-2447. Justice Conner wrote the opinion.