5 Tips on Probate Mediation and Estate Settlement Agreements — October 15, 2014 Palm Beach case

If you are involved in probate litigation Palm Beach, and may go to mediation or are talking about a probate settlement agreement, you may want to read this October 15, 2014 case from Palm Beach’s appeals court, the 4th District Court of Appeal (Florida’s 4th DCA). 

Medation & Palm Beach Estate Litigation

• Many probate judges Palm Beach will send the parties such as an executor of a will, heirs, probate beneficiries and those who file a Palm Beach will challenge Florida to mediation
• Similarly with lawsuits involving Florida revocable trusts, you may be ordered to attend mediation in an attempt to settle your inheritance lawsuit
• Most of the time, if a settlement is reached in a Palm Beach probate, the agreement or “deal” is reduced to a written settlement agreement
• Sometimes, before a probate settlement agreement is written out and signed, a memo or a term sheet may be agreed to by the parties
• Often, the estate settlement is conditioned upon approval by the Probate Court Palm Beach

5 Tips on Probate Mediation and Estate Settlement Agreements

So here are 5 tips for Palm Beach probate mediation and also Florida estate settlement agreements.

1. First, know what you hope to accomplish at the mediation and be prepared.  Are you going to settle everything or just some, limited, estate issues?  You may want to be familiar with mediation and settlement agreements in Florida. To that end, you can read this recent Florida 4th DCA case of Jilco, Inc. v. MRG of South Florida, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D 2170.  You can read this legal opinion at the 4th DCA’s website under “opinions” for free. It is not a probate case.
2. Florida courts have broad discretion regarding settlement agreements.  See Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.730.   What happens if you cut a deal at mediation and one side balks or back peddles?  See the Palm Beach probate court !  Trust beneficiariesand those that challenge the Florida will: take note.
3. A deal is a deal!  If you are at mediation and you reduce your agreement to writing, whether you plan a more detailed formal agreement later, you still have a deal !  In thisrecent case, you can read what the Palm Beach appeals court said about the writing the parties had.
4. A signed mediated settlement agreement is a contract !  That means that there are requirements and obligations on both sides.  You must comply with what you agreed to.  You can’t agree to do “X” on a Monday and then change your mind on a Tuesday. Executors of Palm Beach wills: take note.
5. Where parties sign a Florida settlement agreement, the settlement stops disocvery regarding matters that are settled by the agreement.  Lake Worth Estate beneficiaries: you can’t go on a fishing expedition after you cut a deal.  Talk to your probate lawyerBoca Raton.  And understand that any deal you cut, any settlement you sign, is binding on you.