Do you think mom and dad expected that their seven kids would fight about the real estate and probate after they died? Maybe not, but a recent Kentucky appeals court case reveals all that can go wrong when adult kids fight over real estate and a probate. This case was a recent matter involving beneficiaries’ claims of tortious interference with an inheritance, also known as tortious interference with an expectancy and sometimes spelled tortuous interference with an inheritance. What can Florida estate beneficiaries learn from this?

The Florida appeals court sitting in West Palm Beach, Florida issued an historic and MAJOR opinion involving punitive damages and a Florida estate for a Florida citizen who died a resident of Broward County, Florida.

John Pankauski, a probate litigation attorney in West Palm Beach, Florida has announced that he completed a second book on family wealth and inheritance fights, the subject matter of his work: probate litigation.  “I’m about 90-95% finished with my second book on probate litigation” said Pankauski, arriving back recently from a trip to the Far East which included Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Vietnam. 

Are you involved in a probate or civil  lawsuit in Palm Beach County, Florida?  Broward County, Florida?  Or Miami Dade?   If you are, talk to your probate or estate lawyers about your trial schedule to make sure you are on track.  As many courts or judicial districts do, at the beginning of a new year, sometimes probate judges or civil judges in Palm Beach are rotated into another assignment or division. 

Even the wealthy are not immune from family litigation, and guardianship fights. Florida courts are not alone in being the forum for fights over someone’s person and property. Guardianship litigation, or conservatorship litigation, is happening all the time. And now it’s happening involving radio personality and Scooby Doo voice Casey Kasem and his family.

Mom has passed away and now you have disagreements with family members over her bank accounts. Problems with the Florida probate? Questions about estate administration?

Are you in the middle of a Florida probate dispute? Is your probate lawyer speaking to you about settling your lawsuit?

Has a Florida will been submitted to probate which you believe is invalid? Do you want to bring an estate lawsuit, or a probate lawsuit, in a Florida probate court attacking the validity of that Florida will?

One of the great things about international travel is discovery. Not only of new sights and sounds, but perspective. Sure, landmarks, architecture, culture, beaches and beauty, museums and mountains are why we all travel abroad. But when you are there, you also get a first hand for what they are thinking and investing in, easier than on the internet.

Not happy with what the will says? Maybe your mom or your dad died, and left a will which disposes of their estate. Maybe you didn’t get anything. No inheritance for you. Or maybe you got a lot less than you expected. Perhaps, you’re simply jealous that your brother or sister got more than you did.