Boca Raton, Florida — April 17, 2014:   West Palm Beach probate litigator John Pankauski will speak this morning in Boca Raton, Florida on Florida estate law and how Palm Beach probate matters “collide” or overlap with Florida divorce law.   Pankauski, whose probate litigation law firm is based in West Palm Beach, will address probate lawyers, estate planning attorneys, as well as trust officers and accountants today at the Boca Raton Commmunity Foundation, sponsored by Northern Trust. 

Can a Florida estate sue a golf course for wrongful death if a golfer fell to his death from a rocky point high above the ocean?  This probate lawsuit, or Florida wrongful death lawsuit, pits a deceased golfer’s estate against some major corporations and golf resort.   If you are involved in a Florida estate where a death was caused by a fall or injury on a golf course or a resort, you may want to read this South Florida Federal Court Case.  This case deals with what type of duties –if any– a golf course owes its golfers and to what extent the probate estate can recover for that death.  In this case, the personal representative of the Florida estate sued for wrongful death.  The decision was handed down on April 9, 2014 after a jury trial and appeal.  But the case is going to back to court.  You can view it at the Appeals Court website.  The  U.S. Court of Appeals (11th Circuit) case number is: 12-15739

This is a case of a minor child born out of wedlock and her Florida probate rights to inherit from the estate of her father, who disappeared.  If you are the parent of a child whose father just disappeared, your child may be able to inherit if the father is presumed dead by a Florida Probate Court.  If a minor child is left out of the last will in Florida, the minor child may also be able to inherit. It depends on whether the child is a pretermitted child (left out child) under the Florida Probate Code. You will want to read this April 9, 2014 Florida Probate Code opinion from an appeal in Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal.

Talking smack can get you into a Palm Beach lawsuit.   Unreasonably injuring someone’s good reputation in Palm Beach can put you on the end of a defamation lawsuit.   Here is a Palm Beach defamation lawsuit whose legal opinion was just handed down 2 days ago by the Palm Beach appellate court, sitting in West Palm Beach.  If you are involved in Palm Beach business deals or are apt to talk poorly of another, you need to read this.   When you open your mouth, it can be costly.

Palm Beach guardianships are serious business.  Guardians, and co-guardians, need to prepare accountings and reports which are reviewed by the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office.   If you are guardian, or a co-guardian, with someone else in Palm Beach County, Florida, you need to read this April 9th, 2014 guardianship appeals opinion.  This probate opinion will tell you what can happen when you spend money on the person who is incapacitated and how a Palm Beach probate court can order you to return money to the Palm Beach guardianship.  Yes, you can be ordered to return thousands of dollars.

Palm Beach probate has seen probate disputes about money and big Palm Beach Trusts, for sure.  And often, heirs don’t agree on who inherits the personal property like the stamp collection or artwork, jewelry or family photos.  But it’s sad when families are fighting in Palm Beach County, Florida over the remains of one who has passed away.  Ashes. Burial instructions.  A Palm Beach County case right now is on appeal dealing with who controls the ashes of a young man who passed away in 2010.  Parents fighting in court over a son’s ashes.

Think you have your estate plan all up to date and in place, right? You carefully scrutinized your will & revocable  trust after evaluating who gets what when you’re gone. What could go wrong, right? If you think there may be an estate lawsuit over “undue influence”, or if you are involved in one right now, read on.

Who is the “mysterious billionaire” the San Jose Mercury News reported purchased the largest life insurance policy ever? While the identity of the purchaser of the $201 Million life insurance policy may remain wrapped in privacy for now, consider why you, or your estate, may want life insurance to be a part, perhaps a small part, of your estate plan. Lest you think this is a sales pitch, read on, as some of the non-traditional reasons for life insurance may help your estate with inheritance disputes once you’re gone.

If you are the trustee of a Palm Beach trust, don’t look any further that the front page of today’s Palm Beach Post, www.palmbeachpost.com, for why you should think twice about investing trust assets in private deals.   Palm Beach County is the center, again, of another Palm Beach fraud and Ponzi scheme that bilked investors.  The Post estimates that two schemers operated a $70 Million Ponzi scheme. 

Are you worried that a Palm Beach inheritance lawsuit may mean that your private financial information becomes a court record?  Do you want the whole world to learn how much you are worth just because you objected to a will in a Palm Beach probate?   Is the other side to a Palm Beach probate litigation case trying to “discover” information about your assets, or business or wealth?  You may want to read a very recent case from Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal which was just handed down on March 14, 2014.