If a Defendant is Avoiding Service of Process, Florida Probate Litigators May Be Able to Serve Via Publication

Are you contemplating bring a Florida probate lawsuit but think the  Defendant will avoid service? There may be alternative ways to serve a Defendant in a Florida probate litigation matter. Want to learn more? Check out this recent case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeal!

What is Service of Process?

• Florida probate lawyers know the importance of service of process in a lawsuit.
• Do you know what it does?
• Service is the process used by Florida estate lawyers to get personal jurisdiction over a party.
• You may have seen in movies where process servers find a person and tell them they have been “served.”
• But what can probate attorneys Florida do when the Defendant evades service?
• Some Defendants can be quite good at that, ask any Florida probate attorney.
• You may be able to effectuate service by publication.
• Do you know what that is?
• Service by publication allows the Florida estate lawyer to publish the service in a paper that is circulated in the area.
• The idea is this will notify the defendant of the estate litigation in Florida.
• Does this actually work?
• Check out this recent case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Palm Beach to learn more about service by publication.

Reilly v. US Bank N.A.

• This was an appeal from a foreclosure action in Palm Beach, Florida.
• Florida will contest lawyers may want to read up on this case to learn how to get their probate trials into the Court’s calendar.
• In this case the bank could not get the Defendant served.
• Florida estate lawyers know that it is not terribly hard to avoid a process server.
• So what did the bank do?
• They served him via publication.
• So what is the problem on appeal?
• The bank forgot to get a default entered so that they could proceed to trial.
• This is called getting the trial to be “at issue.”
• Is your Florida probate lawsuit ready for trial?

Want to learn more?

Check out a free copy of the entire case by clicking here.

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