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What Probate Beneficiaries Need to Know About Florida’s Proposal for Settlement & Attorneys Fees: August 12, 2015 Miami Appeal

Uncategorized • Aug 14, 2015
post about What Probate Beneficiaries Need to Know About Florida’s Proposal for Settlement & Attorneys Fees: August 12, 2015 Miami Appeal

Many Florida heirs at law and executors of wills in Palm Beach probates know that estate disputes can get expensive.  Probate lawyers in Florida are not cheap, especially those who actually try inheritance lawsuits, and are estate litigation law firms. So, when there’s a chance to get attorneys fees in a Florida probate, you need to understand how this can be done.  A recent,August 12, 2015 appeal from Miami Dade County deals with Florida’s proposal for settlement statute, also known as Fla. Statute 768.79 and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442.  While this August appeal from Dade County, Florida is not a probate case, it is a new opinion on Florida proposals for settlement and that Florida statute for attorneys fees.

What do I need to know about Florida’s proposal for settlement law, 768.79 & Rule 1.442?

  • In Florida, attorneys fees are not generally granted or awarded in a trial unless there is acontract or a statute.
  • So, after a probate trial in Delray Beach, such as a will contest or a Palm Beachundue influence case, the winning side, called the prevailing party, typically files a motion for Florida attorneys fees.
  • The winner wants the other side to reimburse the winner for the fees of the Florida probate attorney they used at the inheritance lawsuit trial.
  • Put another way, the prevailing party seeks an order from the Palm Beach GardensProbate Court granting attorneys fees.
  • This is done by filing a Florida motion for attorneys fees.
  • The Florida Probate Code has statutes —  Florida Probate Laws —which can give you attorneys fees in the Florida estate, or probate, trust and guardianship settings.
  • OK, but aren’t there other ways to get Florida attorneys fees if you win your Florida estate lawsuit?

How do I get Florida attorneys fees under 768.79 and 1.442, Florida’s offer of judgment law?

  • So, the Florida proposal for settlement law is in our statutes: Florida law 768.79.
  • Here is a link to read this so called Florida offer of judgment statute on attorneys fees, but really named proposal for settlement:http://www.leg.state.fl.us/STATUTES/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0768/Sections/0768.79.html
  • Now, if you want to read about getting attorneys fees from an offer of judgment in Florida, consider reading this case in Miami Dade County appeals court, Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal.
  • This case of Florida lawyers suing Florida lawyers over thousands of dollars in attorneys fees was just issued by the Miami Appeals Court.
  • Here is a link to read this Florida 3rd DCA Opinion:
  • http://www.3dca.flcourts.org/Opinions/3D14-2539.pdf
  • This offer of judgment Florida appeals court case deal with primarily two issues underFlorida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.442 and also Florida Statute 768.79: 
  • Was a proposal of settlement or Florida offer of judgment too ambiguous?
  • Was the Florida proposal for settlement under F.S. 768.79 improper because of the names used in the mutual release and in the Florida proposal for settlement or offer of judgment?