If my Dad had a Child That he did not Know About, Can that Child Inherit?

Did your parent just pass away? Did they not have a Palm Beach will? If a person dies intestate, can his unknown child randomly appear and inherit from his Florida estate? Are there statutes of limitations on actions to establish paternity in Florida trust and estates litigation?

Dying Without a Will in Palm Beach

• Florida estate planning attorneys and probate litigation lawyers encourage clients to create some sort of estate plan, as it can prove to be very beneficial even while you are still alive.
• For example, if you become incapacitated, a good estate planning attorney may be able to help you avoid a Florida guardianship and protect your wealth that you are no longer able to manage.
• Probate litigators know that it is not very expensive to create a Florida will, revocable trust or living trust and they can be completed quickly.
• Therefore, many people do not have an excuse.
• Why should I bother to have an estate plan?
• Because if you do not have a will, your estate will  pass by a state law that controls who inherits property when someone dies without a will.
• In Florida, this is called intestacy law or dying intestate.
• Miami litigators know that, when you die intestate in Florida, heirs inherit.
• What if a father did not want his adult unknown child to inherit his wealth?
• He should have created a will or trust!

Rose v. Sonson

• This was a September 7, 2016 Third District Court of Appeal opinion.
• Here, an adult was claiming to be a surviving son of the decedent and, therefore, a rightful beneficiary of the estate.
• The co-personal representatives, the decedent’s daughters, filed a petition for administration of their dad’s estate.
• A person claiming to be the decedent’s son and, therefore, a beneficiary of the estate, filed a counter-petition to determine beneficiaries.
• The Circuit Court for Miami Dade found, among other things, that when the putative son filed his paternity claim, the claim was already “extinguished” by the applicable statute of limitations.
• There is a four-year statute of limitations on actions to establish paternity.
• The court does recognize that Section 732.108(2)(b) as amended in 2009 has provided relief to people in similar situations “with existing causes of action by eliminating the four year statute of limitations imposed by section 95.11(3)(b) on paternity determinations in probate proceedings to determine intestate succession going forward.”
• However, the amendment doesn’t provide relief for people like the son in this particular case whose claims had already expired before the amendment became law.
• To read the entire case, click here.