West Palm Beach Probate Litigation: Is a West Palm Beach Estate an Entity that Can Be Sued?

Is a Florida estate an entity that can be a party to litigation? If you want to sue your mother’s estate, who do you file the lawsuit against? A March 8,2017 Second DCA opinion, Spradley v. Spradley, discusses this issue.

In a complaint, Spradley alleged that the estate of his mother, along with his brothers, converted his property. His civil action was dismissed as legally insufficient under Section 57.085(6), Florida Statutes(2015). Spradley appealed. The Second DCA found that Spradley alleged a valid cause of action for the tort of conversion against his brothers. Furthermore, in an attempt to sue his mother’s estate, the Second DCA found that the trial court erred in failing to grant Mr. Spradley leave to amend his complaint to substitute the proper party.

Here, Spradley had listed his mother’s estate as a party to the litigation, which probate lawyers know is NOT proper. ” An estate is not an entity that can be a party to litigation. It is the personal representative of the estate, in a representative capacity, that is the proper party.” Furthermore, the opinion states that ” since estates are not natural or artificial persons, and they lack legal capacity to sue or be sued, an action against an estate must be brought against and administrator or executor as the representative of the estate.” The Second DCA acknowledged that Spradley did fail to sue the proper party, which would have been the personal representative of his mother’s Florida estate, not the estate itself. Furthermore, Spradley should have alleged that his mother’s estate had been opened and a personal representative had been appointed by a probate court. Despite these errors, the Second DCA reversed and remanded the trial court’s decision.  Here, the Florida appellate court seemed to think the trial court was too harsh! To read the entire case, click here.