Can a #Florida probate court judge rule on a #Florida trust lawsuit, when the #Florida trust requires #arbitration ?
A recent case from the #Florida appeals court sitting in #West Palm Beach, Florida ruled on a #Florida trust lawsuit from #Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
EX WIFE FILES #PETITION FOR CONSTRUCTION OF TRUST
- A man from #Fort Lauderdale, Florida created a #Florida living trust.
- He was #trustee while he was alive and
- His current wife was named the #successor trustee.
- He died.
- His current wife was named #personal representative of his #Broward County, Florida estate, and also
- #successor trustee of his #Florida living trust
A #Florida living trust is also referred to as a #revocable trust. The person who creates a #Florida revocable trust is referred to as a #trust grantor or #settlor. Many #Palm Beach estate planning attorneys and #Broward County estate planning attorneys write or prepare a #living trusts for their #estate planning clients in Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach.
WHO ARE THE #TRUST BENEFICIARIES?
The #trust beneficiaries of this #Florida trust are now the current wife, who is the #Florida surviving spouse or #Florida widow, and the man’s son from a prior marriage.
TWO #FLORIDA TRUSTS AND TWO #FLORIDA ESTATES— #trust litigation over #trust distributions and #trust money
- his son died three months after he did
- the ex-wife is named #personal representative of the son’s estate
- a #trust dispute arose — over #trust money
- the #trust lawsuit involved the current wife, as #successor trustee of the #living trust and the #ex-wife, as #personal representative of her son’s #Broward County estate
Remember, this son was a #trust beneficiary under his father’s #Florida living trust.
IS SON’S #FLORIDA ESTATE ENTITLED TO #TRUST MONEY FROM DAD’S #TRUST?
The ex-wife – – as #personal representative – – filed a #Broward County trust lawsuit.
She filed a #petition for construction of trust instrument in #Fort Lauderdale probate court.
The #personal representative of the son’s #Florida estate asked the #Broward County probate court if the son;s #estate was entitled to half of the father’s #Florida living trust – – – which was now an #irrevocable Florida trust.
Was the #son’s estate due money from dad’s trust? We don’t know. Yet.
#SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE OF #DAD’S TRUST FILES MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION
- The current wife, as #trustee of the father’s #Florida living trust , filed a #motion to compel arbitration.
- The #Fort Lauderdale probate court granted the motion .
- But, six months later, the #successor trustee filed a #motion to dismiss.
- The #Fort Lauderdale probate court dismissed the ex-wife’s petition which she appealed to the #Fourth District Court of Appeals, with handles #Florida probate appeals from #Broward County probate cases.
The ex-wife, as #personal representative, claimed that the #Florida trust document required arbitration to resolve the #trust disagreement and #trust interpretation.
#Trust beneficiaries and trustees sometimes use arbitration, rather than #probate courts, to settle #trust lawsuits. #Florida Arbitration is different than #mediation of trust lawsuits.
This case dealt with a #trust lawsuit and whether a #motion to compel arbitration was proper. The #Florida appeals court reversed the #Broward County probate court when it granted the motion to dismiss. This #trust lawsuit should be resolved by #Florida arbitration.
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.