What is Formal Notice Under the Florida Probate Rules?

What is Formal Notice under the Florida Probate Rules? When is formal notice required? What should Palm Beach probate and guardianship lawyers know about formal notice? What are the requirements of serving formal notice on someone? Is formal notice required under the Florida Probate Rules to seek personal liability against a Florida trustee? 

In Palm Beach probates, formal notice is a particular way to serve a court document on another. Formal Notice requires a return receipt and the use of some recognized commercial delivery service such as US Postal Service with return receipt or FedEx and UPS. When a trust petition or a petition in a Palm Beach probate seeks individual liability, or surcharge, against a fiduciary,such as a personal representative of a Palm Beach will, this is an ADVERSARY proceeding under the Florida Probate Code. When seeking individual liability against a trustee, guardian or personal representative, FORMAL NOTICE is required by the Florida Probate Code. Formal notice under Florida probate law is required to obtain personal jurisdiction over the individual you seek to surcharge. Surcharge is a type of a monetary or financial fine or assessment against a fiduciary such as a Palm Beach trustee or personal representative. Personal jurisdiction over an individual is different that jurisdiction over the same person as a trustee, or in one’s fiduciary capacity such as guardian of a person in Palm Beach, or as Personal Representative of a Florida Estate. If you are involved in a trust and estates lawsuit, you may want to read this case Fourth District Court of Appeal case regarding formal notice and Florida probate litigation. You can read the entire trust opinion for free at this link: http://4dca.org/opinions/Nov.%202014/11-05-14/4D14-1056.op.pdf