Florida Family Litigation and Depositions: Can You Take the Deposition of a Minor Child ?

If you’re involved in a Florida will contest or inheritance lawsuit, you may have heard about, or even experienced, depositions. A deposition is where someone is placed in front of a video tape and/or a court reporter, and asked questions by opposing counsel. The person being deposed is required to answer the questions truthfully and under oath. In a Florida estate or family law case, can you depose a minor? Can you compel a minor (someone less than 18 year old) to sit for a deposition, or is that too burdensome? Will the law permit a minor to get protection from being deposed? A 2017 case, involving a motor vehicle accident, in the Second DCA dealt with this subject.

In Akhnoukh v. Benvenuto, Benvenuto’s eight year old son had been a passenger in an automobile accident. Akhnoukh sought to depose the boy and Benvenuto filed a motion for protective order. Benvenuto argued that since the child was not injured, he was not part of the lawsuit and couldn’t provide quality information. In addition, they argued that having the boy deposed would ” result in unnecessary annoyance, embarrassment, burden, and expense.”  The trial court granted the protective order. The Second DCA disagreed with the trial court and quashed the order.  The Second DCA said that although the minor COULD be deposed, the ” trial court in its discretion may take protective measures if necessary for the minor’s well-being, such as requiring that the deposition take place before the court or a magistrate. To read the entire case, click here.