What happens if two people interpret a Florida trust differently? What if the language in a marital agreement or Florida willis unclear? How do the Florida probate courts determine what the true meaning of a provision should be? A May 4,2016 Fourth DCA case , Feliciano v. Feliciano, explains how the courts interpret documents.
Interpreting Florida Will, Trusts, and Probate Documents
- When an estate planning attorney West Palm Beach prepares an estate plan for you, such as a will or revocable trust, they try their best to make the document clear.
- One thing Florida trust and estates attorneys need to do is identify who’s going toinherit money and how much.
- If there’s a trust, they have to tell the trustee what to do with income and principal.
- Interpreting a Florida trust or will should be easy ,but a probate lawyer Delray Beach can tell you that, often, it’s not.
- You can ask any probate litigator Boca Raton if they frequently encounterconstruction actions.
- They will tell you that it happens all of the time.
- What is a construction action?
- A construction action involves construing, or interpreting, what a written document says.
- Construction actions occur to determine the meaning of contracts, deeds, marital settlement agreements, wills, trusts, etc.
- In a construction action, one of the threshold issues is whether a provision isambiguous or not.
- A trust and estates litigator West Palm Beach can tell you that, just because two people look at a document and don’t agree with what it means, does not necessarily mean the document is ambiguous.
- Most probate judges in Florida will read a document, or a provision, in a trust and tell you whether they believe it is ambiguous.
- If the judge does not believe it is ambiguous, the judge will rule and tell you what he interprets the document or provision to mean.
- However, if the document is ambiguous, a probate court judge is permitted to hear parole evidence, intrinsic evidence, testimony , etc. to determine what was intended by the parties when the document was drafted.
Feliciano v. Munoz-Feliciano
- This was a Fourth DCA case regarding a marital agreement.
- Although this is not a probate litigation case, this case provides useful information about how the court interprets documents.
- Furthermore, marital documents are often relevant in probate trials Palm Beachbecause they can have an effect on inheritance.
- In it’s analysis, the court states that ” the interpretation of the wording and meaning of a marital settlement agreement, as incorporated into the final judgment, is subject to de nova review.”
- What does this mean?
- They also say that ” absent any evidence that the parties intended to endow a special meaning in the terms used in the agreement, the unambiguous language is to be given a realistic interpretation based on the plain, everyday meaning conveyed by the words.”
- Furthermore, “courts are not to rewrite terms that are clear and unambiguous.”
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