If you are involved in a probate lawsuit in Florida with a large trust company you may want to read this recent appeal from the Third District Court of Appeal. What does attorney work product doctrineshave to do with trust disputes in Florida? More than you may think, check out the case to learn more about why it may not be so easy to get the trustee’s documents if they were created “in anticipation of litigation.”
Work Product Doctrine
- In order to understand the hurdles that Florida’s work product doctrine can have on Florida trust lawyers you have to know precisely what it goes against.
- Florida estate lawyers have a process known as discovery that aides them in prosecuting actions.
- Do you know what discovery is?
- Probate attorneys Florida have a wide grasp of what they can get from the other side.
- The problem is the stuff they cannot get.
- For example, if you talk to your attorney that is privileged and a Florida estate lawyer cannot compel you to talk about it.
- On the other hand, if you talk to a close friend, you are going to have to disclose what you said when asked.
- Another example of when things are not accessible through discovery is the so called work product doctrine.
- This doctrine allows parties to protect items made solely for the purpose of litigation.
- Want to see why this can be a pain for estate attorneys Florida?
- Check out this recent case and think about what parallels it has to a trust dispute in Florida.
- Are professional trustees able to keep valuable documents out of the Court using this doctrine?
- You decide.
Marshalls of M.A., Inc. v. Witter
- This was a slip and fall case that occurred in a Marshalls in Miami-Dade County.
- So what does this have to do with your estate litigation in Florida?
- This case was addressing the work product doctrine that Florida probate lawyers often deal with.
- The doctrine holds that documents that were created in anticipation of litigation are not subject to the rules allowing probate lawyers access to the other side’s records.
- Does that sounds fair to you when a professional trustee company knows from the onset that litigation is possible?
Want to learn more?
Check out the entire case by clicking here.
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