WHERE DOES MY FLORIDA DEPOSITION TAKE PLACE ? — can they make me come to Florida ?

If you have ever been involved in a Palm Beach probate case, or a Palm Beach inheritance lawsuit, you understand the importance of the “discovery” process.  The discovery process is an important part of any estate lawsuit or trust dispute, and is governed by the Florida probate rules & the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.  The discovery process helps heirs, next of kin, family members, personal representatives of the Florida estate, and others learn answers to important questions like:  where’s all the money  ?   I thought mom or dad’s estate had more money: where is it ?   Who has mom or dad’s medical records  ?  Did they know what they were doing when they changed their will or trust ?   An important part of the discovery process in probate litigation is the “deposition.”  A Palm Beach appeals court case whose opinion was just issued yesterday answers the question:  do I have to travel to have my deposition taken ?

Depositions are common in probate disputes from Boca Raton, Florida to Miami Beach.  Palm Beach estate litigators and Palm Beach trust litigators coordinate the taking of depositions of both parties and witnesses in a timely manner.  Sometimes you want to take someone’s deposition in a probate lawsuit right away.    Other times, probate lawyers in Florida only want to take someone’s deposition after they have received documents, such as bank statements or medical records, or after they have heard testimony of some third party, such as a witness to a Florida will or a Florida trust.

So why is this recent Palm Beach appeals court case, which is not a probate case,  important ?  Because lawyers and parties often disagree on the location of the taking of a deposition during a Florida lawsuit.  So here’s the rules:

1. most parties and third-party witnesses are deposed where they live or work
2. probate lawyers and estate litigators have a duty of good faith and professionalism to coordinate the taking of all depositions with opposing counsel in a reasonable and professional manner
3. if a party to a lawsuit such as a plaintiff, or a defendant who brings a Counterclaim, live out of state, their deposition will take place in Florida: in the county where the lawsuit was filed
4. the general rule is that a defendant will have his or her deposition taken where they resideor work—UNLESS they are seeking affirmative relief, or unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
5. When a defendant asks the court to do something, or sues someone by filing a counterclaim or a cross claim, that’s affirmative relief.
6. “Extraordinary circumstances” is determined in the discretion of the court

Probate judges in Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale don’t like to see lawyers, or parties,  fighting over the location of a deposition.