WHAT DO #ALEX RODRIGUEZ AND #FLORIDA PROBATE LITIGATION HAVE IN COMMON? #ARod and Appeals — 6 points you need to know about #Florida probate appeals
#Alex Rodriguez, the #New York Yankees slugger, is appealing his 162 game suspension to #federal court. #ARod , originally from South Florida, will lose $25 million in salary if he is prevented playing for an entire season. There’s a lot of money riding on his appeal to federal court.
While we wait to see how #A-Rod makes out with his appeal, now is a good time to review some important points about #Florida appeals of #Florida inheritance lawsuits and #Florida probate disputes.
FLORIDA APPEALS—finding the right Florida appeals lawyer
In Florida, the #Florida appellate courts are busy. #Florida appeals, or #Florida appellate work, is/are a unique subspecialty of Florida law —-just like #Florida probate litigation. There are lawyers who devote their entire practice to this one limited subject of Florida law. Some #Florida appeals attorneys only handle civil appeals while others may only handle criminal appeals………..just like some #Florida probate lawyers who only write or draft #Florida wills and trusts, or only administer #Florida probates, and may not litigate #Florida estate trials.
Other firms, such as ours, do not draft or write #Florida trusts or Florida wills, but only assist with administering #Florida estates and trusts — we try cases regarding Florida #probate law, #inheritance rights, #estate administration and #trusts. We litigate #probate trials and #estate appeals of #Florida probate disputes, including #Florida will challenges and #tortious interference with an inheritance or expectancy. We also administer estates and trusts.
6 THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT #FLORIDA APPEALS OF #ESTATE LAWSUITS
1) #Florida appeals courts will review errors of law that may have been made by #Florida probate court judge — you do not get to appeal every single issue that occurred at the #Florida probate trial.
2) findings of fact by the #Florida probate trial court will be upheld unless there was no competent substantial evidence
3) #Florida appeals courts give great deference, almost a presumption of correctness, to the #probate court’s judgment or order and findings of fact, and conclusions of Florida law. Translation: you should only spend your legal dollars on a #Florida appeal if there is:
- a strategic litigation advantage to appeal
- and identifiable error by the #probate court
- you are seeking the logical expansion of #Florida probate law
remember: at all times appeals need to be based upon the facts and the law, including a logical extension of the existing law
4) You need a record from the #Florida probate trial — if there is no clear record before the Florida appeals court, they can’t make a decision about what they don’t have — the record is not limited to what’s filed with the court, but includes transcripts of what was said at a hearing or a #Florida estate trial
5) The appeals court is the wrong place to be thinking about an appeal. Your #Florida probate litigator, and your #Florida estate trial attorney, should be analyzing with you, and strategizing with you, over rulings by the #Florida estate cour —- and the legal position taken by the other side. Attempting to anticipate what issues may be appealed or not is an important part of your #probate litigation trial strategy.
6) Oh yes, don’t forget – – – you need to preserve your issues for appeal appeal and your #Florida appellate rights, at trial.
FOR REFERRAL SOURCES, LAWYERS AND LITIGATORS
We help you with Florida estate and trust administration and trials, and #probate appeals.
Our #Florida probate law firm
- does not draft estate plans
- does not draft wills and trusts
- does not steal your clients or your probates
- Our #West Palm Beach, Florida #probate litigation firm :
- hands your clients back to you at the conclusion of the #Florida litigation
- after all, they are YOUR clients
- we try cases
- we handle appeals
- restricts its practice to #Florida probate disputes
- we work with you on #Florida estate administration, #Florida probate
- we litigate for and protect beneficiary rights
- we represent #Florida personal representatives or executors, and #Florida trustees
- we receive 95% of our clients from other lawyers
- we take contingency fee cases.
Who are we? Our firm is comprised of
- serious Florida litigators,
- focused probate lawyers,
- experienced paralegals and support staff.
We have been involved in high profile, nine figure, multi-million-dollar #Florida estates, including Madoff matters, old # Palm Beach money and complex trusts and multi-party #Florida probates. We also handle “small” or “simple” matters. All we do is litigate and help you with #Florida estate and trust administration. #Tortious interference with an inheritance and allegations of #undue influence, and #will challenges and trust challenges are a unique subspecialty of the law. Does your client know which ones to file, when to do that, and why? Do you know the different ways to prove each case? How about quantifying or assessing damages? It would be our pleasure to work with you and to serve your clients. For a complete copy of this very recent legal opinion please email michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com.
John Pankauski, www.johnpankauski.com, is the author of The Trustee’s Book – An Individual’s Guide To Money, Misfits, Marriages, and Mismanagement, and the upcoming The $41 Trillion Inheritance War. He is an estate and trust litigator in West Palm Beach, Florida. www.pankauskilawfirm.com and has been featured on the CBS Evening News, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NBC, ABC and Fox.