PROBATE CORNER
PROBATE CORNER
Reopening An Estate – It ’ s Not As Easy As You Think
DAVID M . GARTEN
You complete the closing checklist and the judge signs the Order of Discharge . You ’ re done right ? Not necessarily . What do you tell your client when you ’ re served with a petition to reopen the estate from a then unknown heir , or from a disgruntled beneficiary who contends that she was defrauded out of her share of the estate ? Fla . Pro . R . 5.460 provides that “[ i ] f , after an estate is closed , additional property of the decedent is discovered or if further administration of the estate is required for any other reason , any interested person may file a petition for further administration of the estate .” See also § 733.903 , F . S . which provides that “[ t ] he final settlement of an estate and the discharge of the personal representative shall not prevent further administration . The order of discharge may not be revoked based upon the discovery of a will or later will .” Although the aforementioned authority appears broad in its application , as you will see , the courts generally take a restrictive approach to reopening an estate .
In Arrieta-Gimenez v . Arrieta-Negron , 551 So . 2d 1184 ( Fla . 1989 ), the parties were the beneficiaries of their late father ’ s estate . Petitioner accepted her siblings ’ settlement offer that resolved a dispute over the division of their father ’ s real estate holdings in Puerto Rico . The settlement , following adversary proceedings , was reduced to a consent judgment . Twenty-three years later , petitioner discovered that her siblings had fraudulently misled her as to the extent of her father ' s holdings in Puerto Rico and filed suit to reopen the estate . The district court denied the petition and the Florida Supreme Court affirmed . The court held that a consent judgment was entitled to res judicata effect and could only be attacked for fraud on the court . Because the case involved allegations of intrinsic fraud , the consent judgment was not subject to attack .
In Dean v . Bentley , 848 So . 2d 487 ( Fla . 5th DCA 2003 ), after the decedent died , the trial court admitted a will in which the decedent devised all his property to his step-grandson . The personal representative (“ PR ”), an attorney , was contacted by an attorney who stated he had prepared a subsequent will for the decedent which named the devisee as sole beneficiary and as PR . The PR filed a petition for discharge without mentioning the subsequent will or the devisee . The court entered an order of discharge . The contesting devisee filed a petition for revocation of probate alleging fraud because the PR had been aware of the existence of the subsequent will . The trial court revoked probate of the will and reopened the estate . The order was affirmed on appeal .
In Feldan v . Goodman , 460 So . 2d 515 ( Fla . 3d DCA 1984 ), all interested persons waived a final accounting and the trial court entered an order of discharge . The will established a testamentary trust with petitioner as life beneficiary . The trust was funded from the residuary estate assets . After the estate was closed , the petitioner filed a petition : for revocation of an order of discharge , to reopen administration of the estate , and for a trust accounting . The basis of the petition was allegations of malfeasance , conflict of interest and fraud on the part of the Co-PR ’ s / Co-Trustees for failing to account for assets of the estate and a misappropriation of funds of the estate without the petitioner ’ s knowledge . The trial court dismissed the petition with prejudice . The appellate court reversed , in part , and remanded for further proceedings . The court held that the allegations should have been considered in the original probate proceeding .
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UPCOMING PBCBA CLE EVENTS & COURSES
Thursday , November 2 nd ADR / PI Joint CLE ( TBA )
Monday , November 13 th 8:45 A . M . - 5:00 P . M . Riviera Beach Marina Event Center The Winding Road : Legal Adventures in Real Estate , Wills & Trust and Elder Law
Tuesday , November 14 th 2:00 P . M . - 3:45 P . M . Live via Zoom Local Gov ' t and Technology CLE : Red Alert : Shields Up - Cybersecurity for Local Governments & Other Entities
Friday , November 17 th 12:00 P . M . - 1:00 P . M . Live via Zoom
PBCBA Quality of Life Series : Part II : Making the Time : Wellness Considerations for Professionals
Monday , November 20 th 11:45 A . M . - 1:00 P . M . Main Courthouse - WPB
YLS Sidebar Series : The Point of Court Appointed - A Discussion About Juvenile and Other Court - Appointed Attonreys
For more evenls , please visit : www . palmbeachbar . org / calendar
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 12