1-561-514-0900 FREE CONSULTATION

Can a Palm Beach Estate be a Party to Florida Litigation?

Uncategorized May 2, 2018
post about Can a Palm Beach Estate be a Party to Florida Litigation?

Can an estate in Florida be a party to litigation? NO! According to a recent Second DCA case, Spradley v. Spradley, an estate is not an entity that can be a party to a Palm Beach lawsuit. So then how do I file a claim against someone’s estate? Who do I sue? How is my Florida probate attorney going to file a lawsuit against my mother’s estate if I am not able to sue it?

To sue an estate in Florida, you need to sue the personal representative of the estate, not the estate itself. ” It is the personal representative of the estate, in a representative capacity, that is the proper party.” Palm beach probate litigators know that only the personal representative has the right to intervene in litigation for the benefit of all of the beneficiaries of a decedent’s Florida estate. This makes sense because, as the appellate court explains in Spradley, estates ” lack legal capacity to sue or be sued” Therefore, “an action against an estate must be brought against an administer or executor as the representative of the estate.” In Florida, we call the “executor”, the “personal representative.” To learn more about the powers of a personal representative in Florida, you should read Florida Statute 733.808.