Florida Estate Law: Does a Widow Have to Disclose Her Financial Information to an Estate or other Beneficiaries of an Estate?

In Florida inheritance lawsuits, does a widow have to reveal her financial worth to the estate? Who is entitled to know a person’s private financial information? Does my right to privacy in Florida protect me from having to share the amount of money available in my bank accounts? You may want to read this March 2,2016 Third District Court of Appeal case to see whether or not a Florida probate court will make you reveal your personal finances during trust and estates litigation.

Right to Privacy

• Probate attorneys West Palm Beach know that Florida gives its citizens a right to financial privacy.
• What does this mean?
• The Florida Constitution, and the opinions of the Florida Courts of Appeal, gives citizens a right to keep things that are personal and important to them from being disclosed to other people, even in probate litigation Delray Beach.

Schlesinger v. Schlesinger

• Here, someone is trying to get confidential financial data from a widow.
• The widow wanted protection from having to reveal this confidential financial information and the trial judge denied her request.
• The widow sought a writ from an appellate court.
• Our Florida appellate courts,in estate probate cases and non-probate cases, have said that the right to privacy in Florida is very strong.
• In addition, the right to privacy includes a right to financial privacy.
• Generally, no one has a right to learn all about your financial records.
• This case is a great example of a writ case because, if the appellate court had not granted the widow her request to keep her financial information private, it would have constituted irreparable harm.
• In other words, if the widow hadn’t sought protection from the appellate court, once that data left her, her right to privacy would have been violated.
• If you are  involved in estate litigation in Florida, and the issue of financial privacy comes up, consider Florida’s right to privacy and what you can do to protect your rights.
• To better understand writs and your right to financial privacy in inheritance lawsuits West Palm Beach, click here.
  

  Want to know more about Florida probate litigation? Consider these free resources:

  • • Read the Florida Courts webpage on the probate process:http://www.flcourts.org/resources-and-services/family-courts/family-law-self-help-information/probate.stml
    • Read the Florida Probate Code:http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
    • Read the Florida Probate Rules:https://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
    • Here are the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar if you are interested in hiring a Florida probate litigation lawyer and want to know more about our ethical rules and our rules of conduct:http://www.floridabar.org/divexe/rrtfb.nsf/WContents?OpenView
    • Here are the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure:http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBLegalRes.nsf/
    • Watch free Florida Trust, Probate & Guardianship videos, which include important topics of Florida estate, guardianship, attorneys fees, & trust law.
    • There is no cost, no sign up, no one will ask you for your email address to see these dozens of free Florida probate videos:http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com/Firm-Overview/FAQS.shtml