What is the Renunciation Rule in Florida Trust Litigation?

Ask a Florida trust lawyer to prepare or write a trust amendment to your living trust, which is also referred to in Boca Raton as a revocable trust, or a revocable living trust, and that should only take an hour or so.  But, ask your Florida trust attorney what the renunciation rule is, and they may look at you funny.  Now, go find a trust litigation law firm, and ask them if they know what therenunciation rule for trust lawsuits in Florida is, and they should know.  Here is a recent Palm Beach 4th DCA trust appeals case which deals with the renunciation rule and why you need to know about it if you are in the middle of a trust challenge or trust lawsuit Palm Beach where the validity of the trust is a central theme.  The trust lawsuit case’s name is Gossett v. Gossett and is from December 16, 2015.  40 Fla. L. Weekly D 2766a.  This was a trust lawsuit in the Delray Beach probate division, Judge David French, which went up the the 4th District Court of Appeal.  The 4th DCA hears trust appeals, probate and guardianship appeals for Palm Beach and Broward Counties. Here is a copy of the trust appeals court legal opinion if you want to read it:http://4dca.org/opinions/Dec.%202015/12-16-15/4D14-3461.op.pdf

Do you understand how to file a trust challenge Florida?

• If you want to object to a trust document, you have to do so correctly, in the correct, legal way
• Trust procedure is important
• Are you able to object to the Palm Beach trust?
• Do you have legal standing to come into court and challenge the trust?
• Well, if you do, do you know what the trust document says?
• And, and this is important, if the trust document is determined by a trust court West Palm Beach to be NOT valid, or void or invalid, are there other, prior trust documents or amendments which might apply?
• Florida probate litigation lawyers would ask if the doctrine of dependent relative revocation applies to your inheritance lawsuit
• Well, if you were a beneficiary under a trust that you object to and want to challenge by hiring a trust lawyer Florida, have you renounced or given up your benefits to the trust?
• Why is  your trust litigation law firm Florida talking to you about renouncing your interest in the trust which you are attacking?
• Wasn’t the idea of the trust lawsuit and the hiring of a trust attorney to GET you money and NOT give up money?
• Well, you need to be familiar with the renunciation rule under Florida trust litigation law

What is the renunciation rule for Florida trust lawsuits that Palm Beach trust lawyers need to know about?

• “The renunciation rule is derived from English ecclesiastical courts. Barnett Nat’l Bank of Jacksonville v. Murrey, 49 So. 2d 535, 536-37 (Fla. 1950).
• “[B]efore the plaintiff will be permitted to contest the trust agreement through which he has derived this interest he must do equity . . . by renouncing his interest by some method or means sufficient in law to operate as a divestiture.”
• What is the purpose to the trust renunciation rule in Florida?
• There are three rationales underlying the rule: renunciation 1) protects the trustee if the trust is invalidated, 2) shows that the suit is sincere and not vexatious, and 3) ensures the property is available for disposition and free from third-party claims. Id.
• Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal discussed the renunciation rule and its three underlying rationales in Fintak. You should read the Fintak case from 2013, Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal : 120 So. 3d 177 (Fla., 2nd DCA, 2013).
• If you are involved in a trust lawsuit Boca Raton or Palm Beach Gardens, you should read the Fintak case:  There, the settlor created and funded a trust for his own benefit and then filed suit against the trustees to get money also to set aside the trust based on undue influence and lack of testamentary capacity.
• Do you really have to give up your interest in the trust before you can file a trust contest? Ask your probate or trust litigation Florida attorney about a conditional renunciation.
• Good luck.

Watch free Florida Trust, Probate & Guardianship videos, which include important topics ofFlorida estate, guardianship, attorneys fees, & trust law.  

There is no cost, no sign up, no one will ask you for your email address to see these dozens offree Florida probate videos: http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com/Firm-Overview/FAQS.shtml