Sisters Sue Sister Trustee: Florida Probate Rules Formal Notice needed for personal liability & surcharge against Palm Beach trustee or Personal Representatiave —November 5, 2014 Palm Beach Gardens Trust Case

If you are involved in an Estate Lawsuit Palm Beach or trust litigation Palm Beach Gardens, you may want to read this recent, November 5th, 2014 opinion from West Palm Beach’s appeals court, Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal.  It deals with an issue which probate litigators Palm Beach face all the time: when formal notice under the Florida Probate Rules is necessary to seek surcharge or personal liability against a Florida trustee or executor of a Palm Beach will.

Trust Case and Related Probate Palm Beach Gardens

• The trustee of her mother’s Palm Beach trust filed a notice of trust after her mother passed away
• A probate Palm Beach Gardens was filed or “opened up” by the filing of a Petition for Estate Adminsitration
• The trustee and the personal representative was one of three daughters; in other words, she had two sisters
• The two sisters hire their own probate litigation law firm
• All 3 daughters are beneficiaries under the will and the trust
• This probate case and West Palm Beach appeals court opinion is worth reading if you are involved in probate litigation Palm Beach.  The link to read the entire opinion is below.  The case is Kozinski v. Stabenow, 2014 WL 5611595.  No. 4D14-1056, Justice Conner wrote the opinion.

Sisters Filed Petition to Review Fees of Sister Personal Representative

• Sisters file a probate petition and want to know how much in fees the sister personal representative is taking
• Sisters object to estate accountings
• Allegations and charges of excessive fees
• The sisters ask the court to enter a surcharge against the sister, Palm Beach Gardens executor or trustee or otherwise suggest that disgorgement of fees and money is sought
• No formal notice: only email service to her counsel
• A motion to dismiss is filed arguing that no personal jurisdiction exists over the trustee, personal represenative PERSONALLY since there was no formal notice on her in herindividual capacity

Formal Notice in Palm Beach Probates & Under the Florida Probate Code

• What is Formal Notice under the Florida Probate Rules?  In Palm Beach probates, formal notice is a particular way to serve a court document on another.  Formal Noticerequires a return receipt and the use of some recognized commercial delivery service such as US Postal Service with return receipt or FedEx and UPS.
• When a trust petition or a petition in a Palm Beach probate seeks individual liability, orsurcharge, against a fiduciary such as a Palm Beach Gardens trustee or the executor of a Palm Beach will, a so called Personal Representative, this is an ADVERSARY proceeding under the Florida Probate Code
• When seeking individual liability against a trustee or guardian or personal representative Palm Beach Gardens, FORMAL NOTICE is required by the Florida Probate Code
• Formal notice under Florida probate law is required to obtain personal jurisdiction over the individual you seek to surcharge
• Surcharge is a type of a monetary or financial fine or assessment against a fiduciary such as a Palm Beach trustee or personal representative
• Personal jurisdiction over an individual is different that jurisdiction over the same person as a trustee, or in one’s fiduciary capacity such as guardian of a person in Palm Beach, or as Personal Representative, of, for example, a Jupiter, Florida Estate

You can read the entire trust opinion for free at this link: http://4dca.org/opinions/Nov.%202014/11-05-14/4D14-1056.op.pdf