Spend Your Legal Dollars Wisely in Estate Disputes Family feuds are common in Palm Beach County, particularly when a Florida resident passes away. Brother suing sister, step mom versus stepdaughter, heirs versus the trustee, are, for good or for ill, commonplace in the world of the Palm Beach estate litigation and trust litigation throughout Florida.

In a recent Miami, Florida trust case, a Florida appeals court reversed a trial court which ordered a non-testifying expert to be deposed. Why does this matter? This is a case supporting a Florida trust beneficiary’s rights.

This is a recent Florida trust case involving a  wealthy Florida man who got divorced from his spouse, and the former wife’s attempt to have her alimony paid from the wealthy man’s Florida trusts. This case deals specifically with whether a Florida court has personal jurisdiction over a Florida trustee and is a “sister” or companion case to a Florida appeals court opinion involving the same parties and issues.

Attorneys fees in Florida litigation and Florida trials often become an important part of the case. A party to a Florida lawsuit may only recover attorneys fees from the losing side if there is a contract or a specific Florida statute. This is an exception to the American rule which provides, generally, that each party to a lawsuit pays their own way.

A very recent Florida case, decided just weeks ago in Collier County, Florida, demonstrates the overlap of divorce law and Florida trust law. Specifically, the Florida trust issue which the Florida appeals court addressed was whether an ex-wife can get trust assets for alimony payments from a Florida trust when the husband is a trust beneficiary and has refused to pay alimony.

In January 2010, a Florida father of adult children died. He was a Florida resident, he had a Florida will, and was not survived by a spouse. For some reason, the probate proceeding in the Florida Circuit Court for the County where this father passed away did not begin until July 2011.

Florida probate litigators, and Florida trust trial lawyers know the importance of preparing for trial in Palm Beach, Florida to Miami-Dade County, Florida. Florida probate lawyers prepare documents to be introduced, assemble a witness list, and begin to create a laundry list of facts which they hope to get into evidence for a probate trial or a Florida inheritance lawsuit.

Here is a recent development regarding Florida trust law and Florida probate law which addressed a Florida evidence issue which litigation lawyers may wish to read. It deals with an evidence issue which is of concern to Florida trust litigators and Florida probate litigators , as well as those Florida lawyers handling trials in the defense of an attorney in fact created under a Florida durable power of attorney.

This is the case of a bitter Florida will dispute between two sisters that’s been going on for over four years. That’s right, a Florida estate dispute, and a Florida probate litigation case that’s keeping the Florida probate lawyers gainfully employed.

A Florida estate case was decide literally days ago by a Florida appeals court. The Florida estate case dealt with probate litigation and the payment of estate administration expenses in Florida. If you are involved in a Florida estate dispute over the payment of funeral expenses, expenses of probate administration, or the payment of debts of the deceased Florida citizen, you may want to read this very recent case. For a complete copy of the recent Florida appeals court opinion, which dealt with the Florida probate, email Michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com.