Florida Probate Appeals and Abuse of Discretion- April 20,2016 Second DCA Opinion

Are you involved in a will contest or trust lawsuit? Did you file a petition to overturn a will or revoke probate? Is your probate litigatorWest Palm Beach knowledgeable about appeals? What is abusive discretion? An April 20, 2016 Fourth DCA appeal discusses abusive discretion by a trial judge in Florida.

Probate, Estate, and Trust Appeals

• If you are involved in Florida trust litigation or probate litigation, you should be considering appeals prior to trial and during trial.
• Why?
• If you prevail in your matter, the other side may file an appeal.
• Any trust and estate attorney knows that you want to be prepared for the possibility of an appeal so that all of the hard work in winning your matter is not thrown away.
• No probate trial lawyer Delray Beach likes to go through an entire trial, prevail, and then have that matter overturned on appeal.
• Likewise, if there was an error of law that occurred during the trial, your trial attorneyBoca Raton will want to make sure to preserve that issue because you may end up wanting to appeal a decision made at your trust and estates trial.

Nance v. Nance

• Here, the Second DCA decides that a decision, “which effectively deprives the Wife of her present interest in the marital home, constitutes an abuse of discretion.
• This case, although not a probate case, discusses briefly the definition of abusive discretion by a trial judge in Florida and lists other citations that may be helpful to you if you are preparing for a Florida probate appeal.
• For the most part, rulings of law are appealable.
• Findings of fact may not be.
• However, a decision may constitute an abuse of discretion by the court if the judge makes findings of facts that are not supported by substantive evidence.
• Trial courts have great discretion.
• For example, they can weigh the credibility of a witness.
• In estate or inheritance lawsuits in Florida, estate litigators West Palm Beach very frequently call on witnesses to testify at probate trials.
• What would a probate attorney Palm Beach call a witness to testify about at a trust and estate trial?
• For example, witnesses may be called to testify about circumstances around how their mom or dad signed or amended a revocable trust.
• Inferences that are drawn from a probate court by evidence that is presented need to bereasonable.
• When a probate court judge exercises its discretion not based on competent substantial evidence, that may be abusive discretion.
• What is abuse of discretion?
• Discretion is abused when “judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable”.
• Whether the exercise of discretion by a probate judge is unreasonable is best considered by, and answered by, your probate litigation law firm in Florida, as well as their appellate team.
• To learn more about abuse of discretion in Florida probate trials, read the entire case by clicking 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