Recent Articles

3d DCA: Post-mediation litigation triggered by settlement agreement's fuzzy release clause

Juan Antunez
January 04, 2009 02:09

Sandra O'Neill v. Scher, --- So.2d ----, 2008 WL 5352183 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec 24, 2008) In the linked-to opinion the parties executed a settlement agreement supposedly putting an end to their litigation involving contested probate claims. The settlement agreement contained the following release...

2d DCA: Trust-litigation venue statute wont get you to Canada

Juan Antunez
December 20, 2008 22:18

Hunt v. Hooper, --- So.2d ----, 2008 WL 5191505 (Fla. 2d DCA Dec 12, 2008) As I've written before, Florida is the largest recipient of state-to-state migration in the U.S. [click here]. This fact has all sorts of implications for trusts-and-estates matters. For example, figuring out where to...

3d DCA lectures probate litigator on ethics

Juan Antunez
December 18, 2008 02:03

Hernandez v. Gil, --- So.2d ----, 2008 WL 5156623 (Fla. 3d DCA Dec 10, 2008) You know you're having a bad day when the 3d DCA writes an opinion for no other reason than to lecture you on your ethical duties. Although the arguments raised by the appellant below and here are meritless and would...

Princeton Agrees to $90 Million Settlement of Suit Alleging Misuse of Endowment

Juan Antunez
December 13, 2008 01:13

When I first wrote about this case in 2006 [click here], I saw it as a prime example of public relations as litigation tool. (Check out the litigants' dueling websites: here, here). Well, fast forward two years, the Princeton suit settled on the eve of trial. Here's an excerpt from a New York Times...

Jury rejects $17M legal estate-planning malpractice claim against Orrick

Juan Antunez
December 11, 2008 14:15

I previously wrote about this case from the perspective of how conflicts of interests can kill you as an estate planner if (a) you're not aware of the issues and (b) you fail to take appropriate precautions [click here]. As a follow up to that post, it seems that the estate planner at the...

4th DCA: So what's a specific bequest?

Juan Antunez
December 06, 2008 03:55

Babcock v. Estate of Babcock, --- So.2d ----, 2008 WL 4863088 (Fla. 4th DCA Nov 12, 2008) Any probate lawyer worth his or her salt will tell you that reading a person's will is often just the tip of the iceberg. You don't really know how to administer an estate unless you take the...

4th DCA: Order denying motion to strike petition for administration for lack of standing is NOT an appealable probate order

Juan Antunez
November 30, 2008 00:41

Klingensmith v. Ferd and Gladys Alpert Jewish Family of Palm Beach County, Inc., --- So.2d ----, 2008 WL 4922917 (Fla. 4th DCA Nov 19, 2008) In probate proceedings your standing to participate in any aspect of the administration of the estate depends on whether or not you're an "interested...

S.D.Fla. judge says "enough already!" to vexatious trusts-and-estates litigant

Juan Antunez
November 22, 2008 21:55

Barash v. Kates, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2008 WL 4922787 (S.D.Fla. Jun 25, 2008) Serial litigation by vexatious litigants in trusts-and-estates proceedings and how courts go about dealing with them has been a frequent topic on this blog [click here, here, here]. The take-away from these cases is: [1]...

Probate and Trust Litigation Committee - Appellate Rule Project

Juan Antunez
November 21, 2008 14:10

Whether certain probate-related orders are or are not subject to appeal is a topic that comes up with some frequency on this blog [click here]. In an effort to add greater certainty to this area of the law, the Probate and Trust Litigation Committee has been working on an appellate rule...

IRS private letter ruling documents creative lawyering by Florida probate litigators

Juan Antunez
November 20, 2008 17:58

Veteran Florida probate litigator Amy Beller was kind enough to direct me to Private Letter Ruling 200844010, in which the IRS ruled that if you split a single marital trust into five separate sub-trusts and then terminate just one of those sub-trusts, IRC § 2519 would be triggered only with...