What in the world does a Florida probate case have in common with the ongoing Russian investigation, including the August 22, 2017 testimony of Fusion GPS Founder Glen Simpson before the Judiciary Committee? More than you may realize.As you will recall, Fusion GPS is a sleuth firm, which had an employee, Michael Steele, conduct research, and prepare a dossier, a Russian dossier, on whether the Russians were involved with the 2016 Presidential election.This has had Washington and the media all abuzz since before the election, and certainly over all of 2017. In August, Fusion GPS founder Glen Simpson testified before the Judiciary Committee. He discussed what his employee, Michael Steele, knew about Russia and what his role was in creating the Russian Dossier. EVERYONE, from politicians, to lawyers, and the media, wanted to know EXACTLY what Glen Simpson told the Judiciary Committee. But, no one would release the transcript of the questions and answers. Until US Senator Diane Feinstein did: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/09/us/politics/feinstein-fusion-gps-glenn-simpson-transcript.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news. Now, with the transcript, there is a clear record of what questions were asked, what the answers, under oath were, and who said what. Just like a good Florida probate lawyer: always have a court reporter there. At a hearing. Every hearing. Not just a trial. Get a record.
Why should an estate beneficiary care about transcripts and court reporters? After all, isn’t a Florida estate really easy? Well, they should be. But what if someone sues the estate or objects to the will? What if the estate attorney wants a Million Dollars in fees and you think that’s too much? There are three important (and other !) reasons to have a court reporter and a transcript at and for estate court hearings in probate.
First, get a clear record. Memories fade. We don’t want to forget something, right? And, remember, what the court orders us to do is NOT a suggestion: it’s a command. So, let’s get it right.
Second, even on the “simple” hearings, often at UMC, or uniform motion calendar, where the lawyers for the family or estate “go” in to probate court at 8:45 a.m., the lawyers and the parties, even the probate court judges, might bring up, or raise, other issues to discuss. In probate lawyer “talk”, we say that they raise issues other than the one which was set for hearing and subject of the Notice of Hearing. When that happens: get a transcript to know and remember exactly what was said. Hire a court reporter in advance. Probate courts in Florida do NOT provide court reporters. Although they often do record proceedings, you have to try to “get” the transcript and then pay for it if you did not bring your own court reporter.
Finally, the appellate record. If there is a ruling that is bad, and you want to appeal, you need a transcript of all relevant hearings. You have to “compile the record” for the Florida appeal. That includes filing hearing transcripts. If you don’t have a clear transcript of what was done at a hearing, you have a good chance that the ruling or order won’t be overturned. After all, if there is no transcript of the hearing, how can an appeals court in Florida really know whether a probate ruling should be reversed . Or not.
You can read the Simpson testimony transcript about the Russian dossier at this link: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/09/us/politics/document-Fusion-GPS-Simpson-Transcript.htm