Amendments to Florida Probate Rules

807 So. 2d 622, 26 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 663, 2001 Fla. LEXIS 2009, 2001 WL 1194323
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedOctober 11, 2001
DocketNo. SC01-1859
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 807 So. 2d 622 (Amendments to Florida Probate Rules) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amendments to Florida Probate Rules, 807 So. 2d 622, 26 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 663, 2001 Fla. LEXIS 2009, 2001 WL 1194323 (Fla. 2001).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The Florida Probate Rules Committee has filed an emergency petition, asking this Court to adopt amendments to Florida Probate Rules 5.025, 5.340, 5.360, and 5.365. The emergency is necessitated by the effective dates of the significant statutory changes on which the rule amendments are based — October 1, 2001, and January 1, 2002. See ch. 2001-226, Laws of Fla. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. The committee and The Florida Bar Board of Governors unanimously approved the proposed amendments.

The Legislature made a number of changes to the elective share statutes, sections 732.201-732.2155, Florida Statutes (2000), and to the inventory statute, section 733.604, Florida Statutes (2000). In deference to the Florida Probate Rules, the Legislature eliminated from the statutes provisions of a procedural nature. See Fla. S. Comm, on Judiciary, CS for SB 402 (2001) Staff Analysis 6 (Mar. 14, 2001). The committee proposals reflect these changes.

In addition to ensuring that the proposed amendments tracked the legislative changes, the committee’s petition addressed two overriding concerns in proposing these amendments:. (1) to prescribe who would have the task of identifying and valuing the elective share, and (2) to prescribe due process protections (notice and opportunity to be heard). The committee determined that the personal representative of the estate would be in the best position to identify and value the elective share because the personal representative must gather information about all assets of the decedent as part of the due diligence determination regarding the need to file an estate tax return. This would avoid the burden on the electing spouse to engage in formal discovery with the personal representative and others to identify and value the elective share.

The committee proposed adding determination of amount of elective share and contribution to rule 5.025, regulating adversary proceedings, to guarantee service of formal notice of process on interested persons. The Rule History and Statutory References have been amended to reflect these due process changes.

The proposed amendment to rule 5.340 reflects the changes to section 733.604, Florida Statutes (2000), by adding a requirement that the inventory contain notice of beneficiaries’ rights; removing the requirement to value in the inventory real property that is protected homestead property; adding a requirement that the inventory be verified by the personal representative; removing the requirement of notice to the Department of Revenue in elective share proceedings; and adding a requirement that interested persons who request information about assets included in the inventory must be furnished an explanation. The committee also proposed a requirement that the personal representative file notice of service under subdivision (d). Committee Notes and Rule References have been updated to reflect the changes.

[623]*623The committee proposed a complete rewrite of rule 5.360 to conform to statutory changes in sections 732.2125 and 742.2145, as follows:

1. Subdivision (a) establishes a procedure for election by the surviving spouse or the attorney-in-fact or guardian of the property of the surviving spouse, including requirements for service on the personal representative, notice to interested persons, and time requirements.
2. Subdivision (b) sets forth the procedure for election, including petitioning for extension, withdrawal of election, notice requirements, and procedures for objection by interested persons.
3. Subdivision (c) provides alternative procedures for determination of entitlement, depending on whether an objection was served. (The committee intended these procedures to provide the flexibility of being handled summarily or informally if no controversy exists.)
4. Subdivision (d) provides the procedure for determining the amount of the elective share and contribution. Although the personal representative has the duty to file and serve the petition for determination, the rule provides an alternative for petition by the surviving spouse if the personal representative does not file within 90 days from rendition of the order of entitlement. The rule further provides the procedure for objection and for court determination with or without objection.
5. Although the committee expressed concern that section 732.2145, Florida Statutes, is unclear whether the order is to be considered a judgment for purposes of statutory interest because it contains references to both the order and to a judgment for the amount of contribution, the committee proposal includes requirements for the order of contribution. The committee felt that this discrepancy could be left to the courts and general law for clarification.

Committee Notes and References have been updated to reflect the changes.

The language of current rule 5.360(e) is transferred to new rule 5.365 to preserve the procedure for enforcing dower rights without retaining the procedure as part of the completely redrafted procedures for enforcing elective shares. Although dower was abolished by the Legislature in 1974, dower rights existing before abolishment still may exist for certain individuals. Committee Notes and Rule References have been updated to reflect the changes. We have edited the proposed new rule for grammatical accuracy.

We hereby adopt the amendments to rules, as reflected in the appendix. New language is indicated by underlining; deletions are indicated by struck-through type. Committee Notes are included for explanation and guidance only and are not adopted as an official part of the rules. Although the amendments are effective immediately, interested parties have 30 days from the date of this opinion in which to file comments.

It is so ordered.

WELLS, C.J., and SHAW, HARDING, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, LEWIS, and QUINCE, JJ., concur.

APPENDIX

RULE 5.025. ADVERSARY PROCEEDINGS

(a) Specific Adversary Proceedings. The following shall be adversary proceedings unless otherwise ordered by the court: proceedings to remove a personal representative, surcharge a personal representative, remove a guardian, surcharge [624]*624a guardian, probate a lost or destroyed will or later-discovered will, determine beneficiaries, construe a will, cancel a devise, partition property for the purposes of distribution, determine pretermitted share, determine amount of elective share and contribution, and for revocation of probate of a will.

(b) Declared Adversary Proceedings. Other proceedings may be declared adversary by service on interested persons of a separate declaration that the proceeding is adversary.

(1) If served by the petitioner, the declaration shall be served with the petition to which it relates.

(2) If served by the respondent, the declaration and a written response to the petition shall be served at the earlier of:

(A) within 20 days after service of the petition, or

(B) prior to the hearing date on the petition.

(3) When the declaration is served by a respondent, the petitioner shall promptly serve formal notice on all other interested persons.

(c) Adversary Status by Order. The court may determine any proceeding to be an adversary proceeding at any time.

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Related

Amendments to Florida Probate Rules
816 So. 2d 1095 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2002)

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Bluebook (online)
807 So. 2d 622, 26 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 663, 2001 Fla. LEXIS 2009, 2001 WL 1194323, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amendments-to-florida-probate-rules-fla-2001.