Do you want to sue the corporate trustee for breach of fiduciary duty? Mismanagement of the family trust may not be hard to prove, but you need evidence. One issue is getting that evidence into probate court for the judge to review. Has your Florida probate lawyer explained the rules regarding hearsay? Why does this matter for your Florida probate litigation?
The Rules on Hearsay in Probate Court
- You have to get evidence into probate court to prove your case, ask any Florida probate lawyer.
- What does that mean?
- And why is it so problematic?
- Florida probate courts follow the Florida Rules of Evidence which do not allow estate attorneys Florida to introduce hearsay into court.
- There are exceptions though, which is how your probate attorney Florida will get it done.
- What is hearsay?
- Hearsay is a blanket term for a lot of out of court statements.
- This can include documents.
- That means that you may have trouble getting the corporate documents into the case to prove the trustee breached their duties.
- What can you do in a case like that?
- This where an experienced Florida estate lawyer can come in handy to use the exceptions to the rules.
- Check out this recent appeal to learn more.
- What does this have to do with Florida estate litigation?
Petrovsky v. HSBC
- This was an appeal from a foreclosure action in Florida.
- The bank needed to introduce certain corporate documents, just like you may need to in a Florida trust lawsuit.
- How did they get over the bar to hearsay?
- Florida estate lawyers know that one big exception to hearsay is the so called business records exception.
- When does that apply?
- Can you use it in your Florida probate lawsuit to get the corporate trustee’s documents in front of the judge or jury?
Want to learn more?
Check out the entire case by clicking here.
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