Florida’s Expanded Elective Share Rights Limited to Persons Dying after...
Estate of Heid v. Heid, 863 So.2d 1259 (Fla. 5th DCA Jan. 9, 2004) (TRIAL COURT AFFIRMED) Edward J. Heid died on December 18, 1999. Mr. Heid’s surviving wife, Blanche A. Heid, sought to enforce her...
View ArticleOrder Determining Entitlement to the Elective Share Is Not Appealable
Dempsey v. Dempsey, 2005 WL 954856 (Fla. 2 DCA April 27, 2005) (Appeal Dismissed) Under Florida Probate Rule 5.360, determining the elective share is a two step process. First, the trial court must...
View ArticleCan you accidentally create an “Elective Share Trust” under Florida law?...
Janien v. Janien, 2006 WL 2956304 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct 18, 2006) Under Florida law a surviving widow or widower is entitled to at least 30% of the decedent spouse’s estate. If done properly, an "elective...
View ArticleCourt says NO to appeal of spousal-elective-share order
Trenchard v. Gray, — So.2d —-, 2007 WL 837294 (Fla. 2d DCA Mar 21, 2007) In Dempsey v. Dempsey (a 2005 opinion I wrote about here) the 2d DCA ruled on when elective share orders are subject to appeal....
View ArticleLateral thinking = probate litigation success
Marlowe v. Brown, 944 So.2d 1036 (Fla. 4th DCA Aug 02, 2006) Being an effective probate litigator often requires lateral thinking — the generation of novel solutions to problems using other than...
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2d DCA: Florida’s spousal elective share statute survives constitutional...
In re Estate of Magee, — So.2d —-, 2007 WL 2781131 (Fla. 2d DCA Sep 26, 2007) When all else fails, one way to win a probate dispute is to challenge the portion of the probate code at issue on...
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Bkrtcy: Can you time an elective share claim to gain an advantage in bankruptcy?
In re Miller, — B.R. —-, 2010 WL 5184798 (Bkrtcy.S.D.Fla.2010) Assume Husband "A" and "B" are both recent widowers. Husband "A" inherited $100,000 from his wife. Husband "B" was completely cut out of...
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2d DCA: When can a second wife subpoena confidential business records of a...
McDonald v. Johnson, — So.3d —-, 2012 WL 246468 (Fla. 2d DCA January 27, 2012) Can second wife subpoena MCC’s business records in connection with a potential elective-share claim? 2d DCA says YES What...
View ArticleGood Facts Rescue “Ambiguous” (Maybe Non-Existent?) Elective Share Waiver in...
Weisfeld-Ladd v. Estate of Ladd, 2006 WL 231481 (Fla. 3d DCA Feb 01, 2006) Clearly, the couple at the center of this dispute thought that when they signed their prenuptial agreement they were waiving...
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4th DCA: When does a surviving spouse’s “elective share” take an estate-tax hit?
Boulis v. Blackburn, — So.3d —-, 2009 WL 2382358 (Fla. 4th DCA Aug 05, 2009) The decedent at the heart of this probate battle, Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis, was a Greek immigrant and self-made millionaire...
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5th DCA: Can $5 million gift to surviving spouse be conditioned on a prior...
Dinkins v. Dinkins, — So.3d —-, 2013 WL 3834371 (Fla. 5th DCA July 26, 2013) In the right circumstances, no-contest or in terrorem clauses can be effective tools to ward off wasteful inheritance...
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4th DCA: Can a surviving spouse’s $12.5 million “elective share” be reduced...
Blackburn v. Boulis, — So.3d —-, 2016 WL 231405 (Fla. 4th DCA January 20, 2016) Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis (1949 – February 6, 2001) was a land developer, casino operator, and restaurant owner of Greek...
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2017 legislative news: Big Changes to Florida’s Elective Share Statutes
If you’re a working probate attorney, elective share claims loom large in your practice. Which means anytime the thicket of interconnected and complicated statutes making up this body of law gets...
View ArticleCan $5 million gift to surviving spouse be conditioned on a prior waiver of...
In the right circumstances, no-contest or in terrorem clauses can be effective tools to ward off wasteful inheritance litigation. Here’s the problem: these clauses are unenforceable in Florida for...
View ArticleWhen can a second wife subpoena confidential business records of a...
What divorce attorneys do and what trusts-and-estates lawyers do overlaps all the time. Often that overlap occurs at the planning stage, when working together on drafting a pre-nuptuial or marital...
View ArticleCan a surviving spouse’s $12.5 million “elective share” be reduced to pay...
Gus Boulis was a spectacularly successful self-made millionaire with a sixth grade education whose life story was as colorful as it was improbable. And it all came to an end in 2001 when he was gunned...
View Article2017 legislative news: Big Changes to Florida’s Elective Share Statutes
If you’re a working probate attorney, elective share claims loom large in your practice. Which means anytime the thicket of interconnected and complicated statutes making up this body of law gets...
View ArticleDo you need a court order to file a late elective-share claim?
A surviving spouse’s right to an “elective share” reflects Florida’s strong public policy favoring the protection of surviving spouses. On the other hand, the fact that elective-share claims are...
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