#FLORIDA GUARDIAN DENIED #GUARDIANSHIP FEES AND #DISCHARGE BY #PROBATE COURT – wins #bank account titled in names of guardian and ward
In #Florida probate courts across the sunshine state, there is much #inheritance litigation and #probate lawsuits over bank accounts.
- Who gets the #Florida bank account ?
- How is the #Florida bank account titled ?
- Does it belong to the #Florida estate or guardianship ?
- Or is there a #Florida right of survivorship which gives the bank account to a #Florida beneficiary ?
This is a recent #Florida guardianship case, decided literally days ago by a #Florida appeals court which awarded two #Florida bank accounts to a #Florida Guardian. Here’s what happened:
#FLORIDA GUARDIAN FILED A MOTION FOR DISCHARGE AND TO BE PAID
When a #Florida guardianship is over, the #court-appointed Guardian wants to wrap things up.
#Florida guardianship law permits a #Florida Guardian to be discharged. The Florida Guardian is entitled to get an order from the #Florida probate judge in charge of the guardianship saying that the Guardian did everything right and there is no further liability or responsibility.
In this case, the #Florida Guardian filed a motion for discharge and also to be paid – – – a motion for #Guardian fees or #Guardian compensation. Both were denied.
#FLORIDA APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS PROBATE COURT RULINGS, BUT…………………
The Florida appeals court that heard the appeal of this #Florida Guardian upheld the #guardianship court. The #guardianship court denied the motion for discharge and denied the fees sought by the Guardian. This was unusual and the legal opinion from the #Florida appeals court does not tell us why.
The #Florida appeals court for this #guardianship case did however do two things regarding the #guardianship trial court.
#FLORIDA APPEALS COURT AWARDS #FLORIDA BANK ACCOUNTS TO GUARDIAN & ORDERS #GUARDIANSHIP COURT TO CLOSE MATTER
Although the #Florida appeals court for this #guardianship case upheld the #probate court’s rulings, it ordered that the guardianship estate be closed consistent with the door. In other words, end this #guardianship case.
But the Florida appeals court went a step further regarding to bank accounts owned by the #Florida citizen who was the subject of the guardianship proceeding. The two bank accounts were #titled in the name of the Guardian and the person who was the subject of the guardianship. Who gets the two Florida bank accounts?
The #guardianship court ruled that those two bank accounts belonged to the #guardianship estate — this was error by the #guardianship court.
#FLORIDA BANK ACCOUNT LAW — #FLORIDA BANK ACCOUNT IN TWO NAMES CREATES PRESUMPTION OF #RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP
A #right of survivorship bank account, a bank account that is titled in two or more names, or that is an account that says JTROS, or joint account with right of survivorship, goes, automatically, by operation of #Florida law, to the joint owner, or the surviving owner.
In Florida #there are a lot of #bank account lawsuits. It seems there’s a Florida appeals court opinion on who gets a bank account nearly every month: from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida down to Boca Raton, Florida to Aventura and Fort Lauderdale. People always seem to be fighting over Florida bank accounts and who gets the bank accounts when someone dies.
There is a legal presumption regarding #Florida bank accounts which says that if there are two names on the #bank account title, there is a presumption of a joint account with a #right of survivorship. You can overcome this legal presumption of #joint account with right of survivorship, but if you failed to provide evidence, the presumption for a #survivorship right prevails.
FOR REFERRAL SOURCES, LAWYERS AND LITIGATORS ONLY
We help you with Florida estate and trust administration and trials, and #probate appeals.
Our #Florida probate law firm
- does not prepare estate plans
- does not draft wills and trusts
- does not steal your clients or your probates
Our #West Palm Beach, Florida #probate litigation firm :
- hands your clients back to you at the conclusion of the #Florida matter—after all, they are YOUR clients
- we try cases & handle appeals
- our practice is restricted to #Florida probate disputes & contested guardianships
- we work with you on #Florida estate administration, #Florida probate
- we litigate for and protect beneficiary rights
- we represent #Florida personal representatives or executors, and #Florida trustees
- we receive approximately 95% of our clients from other lawyers
- we take contingency fee cases
Who are we? Our firm is comprised of
- serious Florida litigators, with an outstanding reputation in our legal community
- focused probate lawyers,
- experienced paralegals and support staff.
We have been involved in high profile, nine figure, multi-million-dollar #Florida estates, including Madoff matters, old # Palm Beach money and complex trusts and multi-party #Florida probates. We also handle “small” or “simple” matters. All we do is litigate and help you with #Florida estate and trust administration. #Tortious interference with an inheritance and allegations of #undue influence, and #will challenges and trust challenges are a unique subspecialty of the law. Does your client know which ones to file, when to do that, and why? Do you know the different ways to prove each case? How about quantifying or assessing damages? It would be our pleasure to work with you and to serve your clients. For a complete copy of this very recent legal opinion please email michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com.
John Pankauski, www.johnpankauski.com, is the author of The Trustee’s Book – An Individual’s Guide To Money, Misfits, Marriages, and Mismanagement, and the upcoming The $41 Trillion Inheritance War. He is an estate and trust litigator in West Palm Beach, Florida, www.pankauskilawfirm.com and has been featured on the CBS Evening News, in The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NBC, ABC and Fox networks.