Stopping Multiple Florida Estate Lawsuits – Focus On 1 & “stay” in Florida courts
What if you are involved in a Palm Beach probate administration but there are other probates being filed in other states or counties? What if there is are multiple inheritance lawsuits filed over joint bank accounts, Palm Beach trustees, or related Palm Beach estate issues? Do you have to engage in probate litigation in every estate lawsuit all at the same time? Your answer may be for your Palm Beach probate litigation law firm to seek a “stay” in one of the courts or proceedings. Those of you who are beneficiaries of Palm Beach estates or trusts who are involved in a number of probate lawsuits or property lawsuits involving an estate or a decedent’s property may want to consider a stay. This could be a strategic or tactical advantage to your probate litigation game plan: and just maybe save you thousands of dollars in probate legal fees.
Multiple Probate Lawsuits
- Palm Beach estates can be huge
- In $$ and also complexities
- The Palm Beach estate’s personal representative may be dealing with the IRS, probating the estate in the West Palm Beach Probate Court, a will contest or a “challenge the will” lawsuit and separate civil actions or lawsuits or bank accounts or property
- Palm Beachers with multi state contacts may have non-Florida estates or probate proceedings, some “ancillary probate proceedings” or some seeking to take the jurisdiction away from the Palm Beach Probate Court
- (Consider the retired businessperson from Mass. who has a Nantucket home, a Boca Raton Homestead, and a ski chalet in Aspen…..where do you probate the Boca estate ?)
Probate Litigation Tactic
- Consider having your Palm Beach probate litigator file a motion for a “stay”
- “Comity principles” dictate that a halt or suspension of a Florida lawsuit is appropriate when the “first filed” lawsuit involves substantially similar parties & claims
Q: Interference call ?
Tortuous Interference with An Inheritance = Good Example
- Tortious Interference with An Inheritance is a good example of staying a probate related lawsuit
- Also know as Tortuous Interference with an Inheritance or Tortuous Interference with Expectancy
- This is a probate related lawsuit seeking damages & perhaps a jury trial
- It might be “stayed” pending what happens to the Palm Beach will contest or will challenge lawsuit