Are you worried that a Palm Beach inheritance lawsuit may mean that your private financial information becomes a court record? Do you want the whole world to learn how much you are worth just because you objected to a will in a Palm Beach probate? Is the other side to a Palm Beach probate litigation case trying to “discover” information about your assets, or business or wealth? You may want to read a very recent case from Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal which was just handed down on March 14, 2014.
Private Financial Information in Palm Beach Probate Lawsuits
- Generally, under Florida law, one side can’t discover how much you are worth pre trial
- They may be able to learn about your assets after the trial if you lose
- When a party who wins a probate lawsuit wants to have the final judgment of the probate court enforced, they may be able to conduct “proceedings supplementary“
- The side that wins a Palm Beach inheritance lawsuit may be able to learn of your assets which can satisfy the final judgment
Your $$$ May Be Privileged
- Before the probate trial, your private financial information may only be discovered if it’s likely to read to relevant evidence
- Relevant evidence is considered admissable information which is likely to, or would have a tendency to, prove or dis-prove a material fact to your Palm Beach estate lawsuit
- Does everyone really need to know that you have a large investment account in a Boca Raton trust company?
- What if you own a successful business in Delray Beach ?
- Your Palm Beach probate litigator may also be able to assert a Florida privilege known as the right to privacy, under the Florida Constitution
- This privilege has also been recognized by Florida appeals courts as pertaining to financial privacy — there are cases on this
Ask the Probate Court for a Confidentiality Order
- Your estate litigator in Boca Raton or Palm Beach Gardens may be able to move for a confidentiality order
- This may be appropriate when information about your $$$ is relevant and “discoverable” in the Palm Beach probate matter
- An example might be a family business in Jupiter, Florida which is ongoing even though the founder has passed away and the Palm Beach heirs are fighting to see who inherits it
- This recent Florida appeals case is Roberts v. Alfred O. Bonati, M.D. (it is not a Florida probate case but deals with someone violating a confidentiality order)