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Trust and Estate Litigation in Florida: How Do I Serve Process on a Person Who is Not in Florida?

Uncategorized • May 15, 2016
post about Trust and Estate Litigation in Florida: How Do I Serve Process on a Person Who is Not in Florida?

Does Florida law apply when serving someone who is located outside of Florida? How do you serve non-Florida residents when they are involved in your Florida probate litigation? Did your probate litigator ensure that the person in a different state was served with process properly? What should my Florida trust and estates lawyer know about properly serving people outside of Florida? What is Florida Statute 48.21? If you are involved in probate or guardianship litigation in Florida, where you must serve process on an out-of-state party, you should be familiar with Florida Statute 48.12 and a January 30,2015 case from Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal (DCA) about an invalid service of process.

Florida Statute 48.21

  • This statute indicates what is necessary for a return of service to be valid.
  • Therefore, it is very important that probate litigators and trust and estates lawyers familiarize themselves with this statute.
  • Florida Statute, section 48.21 requires that a return of service state the following : 1)date and time the documents were received by the process server 2) the date and time they were served 3) the manner of service 4) the name of the person who got served 5) whether they were served upon the intended recipient or another resident.
  • If the documents were served upon another resident, instead of the intended recipient, the relationship between that resident and the intended recipient should be stated.
  • To learn more regarding what is required for a return of process, in trust and estateslitigation Delray Beach, click here to read Florida Statute 48.21.

SDS-IC v Florida Concentrates International, LLC

  • This case regards an invalid service of process by a Florida party.
  • Although this appeal about service of process is not a probate case, a lot can be learned from this commercial litigation.
  • Here, Florida Concentrates International tried to serve SDS-IC, a Chinese corporation, ” by delivering a copy of the summons and a copy of the complaint directly to SDS-IC’s registered address in Hong Kong.”
  • The affirmation of service that was filed did not state who was served or at what time the service was completed.
  • Florida estate attorneys know that, according to Florida statutes, this is bad.
  • On appeal, SDS-IC argues that ” the service of process was invalid because it complied with neither Florida Law nor the Hague Convention.”
  • Is Florida Law even applicable here?
  • What is the Hague Convention?
  • A probate litigator West Palm Beach can tell you that the Hague Convention applies in “all civil or commercial matters, where there is occasion to transmit a judicial or extrajudicial document for service abroad.”
  • Pursuant to the Hague Convention, service can be effected utilizing a Central Authority, which each state or country should have, or service can be “effected without utilizing the Central Authority as long as the nation receiving the service has not objected to the method used.”
  • Furthermore,because the company serving SDS-IC is a Florida LLC, Florida Statute 48.194(1) also applies.

Want to know more about Florida probate litigation? Consider these free resources: