RPPTL Section Meetings in Miami



I am in Miami for meetings of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar. Today I attended committee meetings for the Asset Protection Committee, the Probate and Trust Litigation Committee, the Probate Law and Procedure Committee, and the Guardianship and Advance Directives Committee.  Attorneys from across the state gather to discuss developments in the law and ways to best serve our clients.  The exchange of ideas, knowledge and experiences is amazing.  I always return home thinking about how fortunate I am to be part of such a great group of dedicated professionals.

The importance of title to homestead property "vesting" at the instant of the owner's death.

Decisions involving Florida's homestead protections continue to show the need for careful analysis of the probate issues when a Florida resident dies owning a primary residence. The protections in the Florida Constitution have protected families since at least 1868, but continue to perplex planners and probate attorneys. In a recent case, the parties signed consents for an order involving a homestead residence. The order was not consistent with the deceased owner's Last Will and Testament. The appeals court reminded us about one of the cardinal rules for homestead issues in probate proceedings: Title vests at the moment of death; the will (or the laws of intestacy) controls the transfer of ownership at death and an incorrect homestead ruling by the court does not change the vesting of title. Without an proper agreement among heirs altering the disposition in the will, consenting to a petition in a probate proceeding does not alter the ownership interests of the heirs that vested at the instant of the owner's death. The decision in Mullins v. Mullins can be found here: https://www.5dca.org/content/download/526765/5852394/file/181672_1260_06072019_08253237_i.pdf