Can a Personal Representative Deduct Attorneys Fees From a Surviving Spouse’s Elective Share?

What is a personal representative of a Florida estate?What is a surviving spouse’s elective share? Can a personal representative deduct money from a surviving spouse’s elective share? If you are involved in probate litigation or if you are a surviving spouse involved in an inheritance dispute, you will want to read Blackburn v. Boulis.

Elective Shares & Surviving Spouses in Palm Beach Probate Litigation

• What is the elective share in trust and estate litigation?
• Florida probate lawyers West Palm Beach know that it is not as easy as it sounds to disinherit a spouse.
• You can disinherit a child relatively easily.
• In fact, you can disinherit your adult child by just leaving everything to everyone else.
• Estate attorneys Delray Beach know about the elective share statute.
• What is this statute and what does it mean for the probate process in Florida?
• No matter what a spouse is left in Florida they can elect to take the elective share.
• How much is it?
• The elective share under current Florida statute is set at 30% of the elective estate.
• What is the elective estate?
• Is the elective estate the same thing as the probate estate?
• Not necessarily.
• Want to learn more?
• Check out this recent case surrounding Florida’s elective share.

Blackburn v. Boulis

• This was an appeal from the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Florida located in Palm Beach County.
• The Fourth DCA hears cases from Martin County, Palm Beach County, and Broward County.
• Here, the probate court permitted the personal representative of a Florida estate to deduct attorneys fees from the surviving spouses elective share.
• Did the Fourth DCA think this was acceptable?
• If the personal representative is the one expending those fees to fight off the spouse claiming the elective share should they be able to do that?

Want to learn more?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.