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Adversarial Florida Probate Proceedings Are Governed by the Rules of Civil Procedure

By:  Jeffrey Skatoff, Esq.

Adversarial probate proceedings in Florida probate are governed by the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.  Pursuant to Florida Probate Rule 5.025(d):

After service of formal notice [declaring the proceeding adversarial], the proceedings, as nearly as practicable must be conducted similar to suits of a civil nature, including entry of defaults. The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure govern, except for rule 1.525 [governing motions for costs and attorneys’ fees].

Like a complaint is a civil suit, a petition “shall contain a short and plain statement of the relief sought, the grounds therefor, and the jurisdiction of the court where the jurisdiction has not already been shown.” Fla. Prob. R. 5.020(b); See also LaCalle v. Barquin, 987 So. 2d 1245, 1245 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008).

A petition for administration in probate is akin to a complaint in a civil suit.  LaCalle, 987 So. 2d at 1246.  When an interested person in probate moves to dismiss a Florida probate petition after the proceedings are declared adversarial, the Court must confine itself strictly to the allegations within the four corners of the petition. Id. at 1246 (relying on Pizzi v. Cent. Bank & Trust Co., 250 So. 2d 895, 897 (Fla. 1971)). 

In LaCalle, the trial court dismissed a petition to probate a lost or destroyed will following respondent’s motion to dismiss based on affidavits attached to the motion to dismiss.  On appeal, the Third District reversed in an eloquent fashion, where it stated as follows:

A petition for administration of a will and a petition to establish a lost or destroyed will in probate are different proceedings. See Lowy v. Roberts, 453 So. 2d 886 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). As to the former, it is apodictic that matters dehors the four corners of a complaint or petition may not be considered on a motion to dismiss. See Fla. Prob. R. 5.025(d)(2) ([T]he proceedings [to probate a lost or destroyed will], as nearly as practicable, shall be conducted similar to suits of a civil nature and the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure shall govern, . . .); see also Pizzi v. Cent. Bank & Trust Co., 250 So. 2d 895, 897 (Fla. 1971) (holding–on a motion to dismiss–that [t]he court must confine itself strictly to the allegations within the four corners of the complaint’ (quoting Kest v. Nathanson, 216 So. 2d 233, 235 (Fla. 4th DCA 1968))); N.E. at West Palm Beach, Inc. v. Horowitz, 471 So. 2d 570, 570-71 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (The purpose of a motion to dismiss is to ascertain whether a plaintiff has alleged a good cause of action and the court must confine itself strictly to the four corners of the complaint.)

Petitions in probate may take different postures, for example, a petition for administration, a petition to establish a lost or destroyed will, or a petition to establish and return probate assets, each assert. While each petition may seek a separate recovery and involve different moving parts, the petition itself is what triggers the proceeding towards that recovery.  Like a complaint in a civil action, the petition as an initial pleading in probate may invite a response in the way of a motion to dismiss. When the Court rules on the motion to dismiss in probate, it is limited in the same fashion as in a civil lawsuit, to not exceed the four corners of the operative pleading—the petition.  Read about adversarial proceedings in Florida guardianships here

Jeffrey Skatoff is a Florida probate attorney.  To have Mr. Skatoff review your case free of charge, please go to his website.

Jeffrey Skatoff Esq

Jeffrey H. Skatoff, Esq.

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