Does the Florida Appellate Court Have Jurisdiction Over the Appeal of Your Probate Order?

Do you need to appeal a judgment in Florida? When do you need a West Palm Beach appellate attorney? What do appeals have to do with my Florida probate case? What are the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure? What is Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.170? You may want to read a recent Third DCA opinion, Maercks v. Maercks, to learn more about Florida probate appeals.

Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.170 (b)

Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.170(b) discusses what Florida probate and guardianship orders are appealable. It is important to consider whether the Florida appellate courts can even hear an appeal regarding the order you disagree with. If you try to appeal an order that is not appealable, the appeal may be dismissed due to the appellate court’s lack of jurisdiction.

An experienced Florida probate appellate attorney, like Rob Hauser, Esq. at Pankauski Lazarus, can help you determine whether or not you can appeal a certain probate order. For a free consultation, call (561)514-0900 ext.101.

Maercks v. Maercks

Maercks . Maercks is a good example of a Florida appeal involving a probate order. Here, a will was admitted to probate. There was another document that the decedent had executed regarding the distribution of her assets. The personal representative, who was also a beneficiary, petitioned to have the second document admitted to probate as a codicil even though he had not included it initially. After the trial court admitted the codicil to probate, another beneficiary appealed.

Did the appellate court have jurisdiction to hear this appeal? Was the order admitting the codicil appealable? The trial court’s order admitting the codicil specified that the court did not make any rulings of fact or law, as it applies to the content of the codicil, and that the legal positions of the parties, or the effects of the codicil, would need to be further litigated by the parties.

Appellant argued that, under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.170 (b) (2), 12, and (13), the appellate court had jurisdiction. However, due to the language of the trial court’s order, the appeal was dismissed. To learn more about why the Florida probate order in this particular case was not appealable, you should read Maercks v. Maercks in its entirety.