Florida Homestead Appeal

Heirs might inherit a deceased Florida resident’s house. Called homestead. But there are quirky rules. And if there was a ruling in the probate court, you may need to take a Florida homestead appeal to protect your inheritance.

Probate Process and Homestead

Even though homestead is not considered a “probate asset”, many probate lawyers, and courts, deal with homestead. In an estate. In the probate. Heirs can inherit when there is no will.

If you are in the process of hiring a Florida probate litigation firm, you may want to look for a law firm that is experienced in both estate litigation and appeals. In the early stages of litigation, many people fail to consider the possibility of an appeal being filed. However, in the probate world, appeals do occur.

This is particularly true for homestead. And Florida homestead appeals.

What if you win your Florida probate case and the other side decides to appeal? You need to make sure you have a powerful appellate attorney, who is also knowledgeable about the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, ready to assist.

At Pankauski Lazarus, the trial and appellate attorneys have been handling appeals and homestead issues for years and years. Here is one of their victories at the appellate court on an estate, and inheriting homestead: click here.

Florida Homestead Appeal

Because our firm’s focus is litigation and appeals, our lawyers work hard on strategy. Before trial, anticipating possible appellate issues. And, to attempt to insure that issues are preserved for appeal, if necessary. In addition, having focused trial lawyers and appellate lawyers in one firm is beneficial because you may save time and money during the appeal due to the fact that the firm is already familiar with your case. If you need to hire a separate Florida appellate attorney, that attorney will need to obtain and review all of the trial level documents before starting the appeal, which takes time and money.

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Samad v. Pla

A March 15,2019 Second DCA opinion, Samad v. Pla, is a great example of a probate appeal. Here, the surviving spouse was granted an extension of time to file her statutory election to take an undivided one-half interest in the decedent’s homestead property as a tenant in common. The trial court granted this extension to her despite the fact that, according to Florida Statute 732.401(2) she filed the election untimely. The other side appealed and won. This means that the appellate court reversed the trial court’s order that granted her the extension.

To learn more about Florida probate appeals, consider reading Samad v. Pla in its entirety. To interview an experienced West Palm Beach litigation or appellate attorney, call (561) 268-0233 ext.101.