What is a Caveat in Florida Probate Court?
A caveat in Florida probate court is a legal document filed with the probate court to provide notice to the court that there is an interested party who wants to be notified if an estate is opened. A caveat allows a beneficiary or creditor to receive notice of a petition for administration without having to open a probate administration themselves.
A caveat filed with the Florida probate court protects an estate beneficiary or creditor by notifying them if a probate estate is opened.
Essentially, a caveat prevents a nominated personal representative from opening a probate estate without notifying the person who filed the caveat. This is especially helpful where one party may be in possession of the will, but where there are other interested parties who are not in communication with the nominated personal representative or who do not have any information on whether the decedent even had a will.
How to File a Caveat in Florida Probate
Either a potential beneficiary or creditor may file a caveat. While a creditor must wait until after someone passes away, a potential beneficiary may file a caveat prior to the death of an individual. For guidance on filing a caveat see Fla. Stat. 731.110 and Fla. Prob. R. 5.260. The caveat is filed in the probate division of the circuit court where the deceased lived or is living.
Why Should You File A Caveat in Florida Probate Court?
A caveat is necessary because a person nominated as Personal Representative in a will can admit the will to probate in Florida without prior notice to other interested persons. See Fla. Prob. R. 5.201.
Prevent The Appointment of A Personal Representative
By filing a caveat prior to the petition for administration, a beneficiary can prevent the nominated personal representative from being appointed and a will from being admitted to probate without formal notice of the petition for administration. This allows an opportunity for the person filing the caveat to object to the petition for administration (thus allowing for the ability to contest a will and the appointment of the named personal representative) prior to the court appointing the nominated personal representative in the will. This also eliminates the need for filing a petition to remove the personal representative after they have already been appointed by the court.
Prevent Estate Assets From Being Used To Fund The Defense Of A Will Contest
By having the fight before the petition for administration is heard, this will usually prevent the nominated personal representative from using estate funds to fight the will contest. It can also prevent the nominated personal representative from obtaining access to all the records of the decedent prior to the will contest, which may give the nominated personal representative an advantage over other parties.
Prevent Untrustworthy Beneficiaries From Gaining An Advantage
In addition, a caveat also prevents untrustworthy beneficiaries from making misrepresentations to the court without a chance for the person who filed the caveat to contest the will prior to the admission of the will to probate.
Win The Race to the Courthouse Before It Starts
One scenario where a caveat is extremely helpful if filed prior to death, is in the case of a person procuring a deathbed will by undue influence who then rushes to the courthouse to be appointed personal representative ex-parte. By filing a caveat, a potential beneficiary can preserve their right to challenge the will and the appointment of the person named in the deathbed will prior to them being appointed as personal representative by the court.
Protect Your Rights As a Creditor
Additionally, creditors often file caveats to ensure they receive notice when a probate is opened, to ensure that they can timely file a claim against the estate to recover any monies owed. Read The Complete Guide To Creditor Claims In Florida Probate.
Litigation Involving Caveats
Will contests
Q: Can a Will contestant file a caveat?
A: Yes.
In Platt v. Osteen, Platt, a claimed beneficiary and will contestant was allowed to file a caveat and block the admission of a will to probate. The caveator appealed an order admitting Day’s Will to probate and appointing Sharon Day Osteen as personal representative.
The sequence of events occurred as follows: Osteen filed a petition for administration of Day’s Will. Platt filed a caveat. Platt was now a caveator entitled to notice. Platt also filed an answer and objection to administration of the Will. Next, without notice to Platt, the Florida probate court entered an order admitting Day’s Will to probate, erroneously finding that no objection had been made.
Platt appealed the order admitting the Will and appointing Osteen as personal representative. Platt asserted that his rights as a caveator were violated. The Florida appellate court reversed the probate court’s order, finding that the Florida probate court was required to determine whether Platt had standing to contest the will, and, if so, to adjudicate Platt’s challenge to the will before taking any action on the petition for administration. In so ruling, the Florida appellate court, citing a Florida treatise, stated:
After the filing of a caveat by an interested person other than a creditor, the court may not admit a will of the decedent to probate or appoint a personal representative without service of formal notice on the caveator or the caveator’s designated agent. [Fla. Prob. R. 5.260(f).] Thus, if a caveat is filed, a formal notice of the submission of a will for probate must be given, and the court must thereafter adjudicate any challenge to the will before admitting the will to probate.
Counterclaims
Q: Does a caveat constitute a counterclaim?
A: No.
In Tien v. Estate of Tien, a November 17, 2021 opinion from the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, the Court reviewed whether a caveat and answer asserting invalidity of the will based upon lack of testamentary capacity, fraud, and undue influence prohibited the probate petitioner from filing a notice of voluntary dismissal dismissing the petition for administration.
The Facts Of Tien v. Estate of Tien
Yife Tien initiated a Florida probate proceeding to administer the estate of his late father. Henry, Yife’s brother, responded to Yife’s petition for administration by filing a caveat and an answer. In the caveat and answer, Henry asserted that his father lacked testamentary capacity to make the last version of his will and codicil, and that both documents were procured through fraud and undue influence. Henry did not plead any independent causes of action. Instead, in the wherefore clause of his answer, Henry demanded an accounting and a deposit of assets into the court registry.
After Henry filed his caveat and answer in the Florida probate proceeding, Yife filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of his petition for administration. The following day, the Florida probate court rendered a final order of dismissal. Henry unsuccessfully sought relief from the dismissal.
Can a Petition For Administration Be Voluntarily Dismissed?
Yes, a petition for administration can be voluntarily dismissed under Florida law. Voluntary dismissals are governed by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420. Under the rule, a plaintiff is authorized once to voluntarily dismiss a case by serving “a notice of dismissal at any time before a hearing on motion for summary judgment, or if none is served or if the motion is denied, before retirement of the jury in a case tried before a jury or before submission of a nonjury case to the court.” Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.420(a)(1). The rules governing a voluntary dismissal apply in Florida probate court.
A Florida Voluntary Dismissal Cannot Serve To Prejudice a Pending Counterclaim
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(a)(2) makes clear that a voluntary dismissal cannot serve to prejudice a pending counterclaim, stating:
If a counterclaim has been served by a defendant prior to the service upon the defendant of the plaintiff’s notice of dismissal, the action shall not be dismissed against defendant’s objections unless the counterclaim can remain pending for independent adjudication by the court.
Does a Caveat In a Florida Probate Proceeding Prevent Voluntary Dismissal Of a Petition For Administration?
No. Where an interested person other than a creditor files a caveat and challenges the decedent’s will, “the probate court [is] obliged to make a determination on [the] challenge to the will prior to appointing a personal representative and admitting the will to probate.” In re Est. of Hartman, 836 So. 2d 1038, 1039 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002). Hence, a caveat effectively precludes the admission of the will to probate until the filing party has the opportunity to litigate his or her challenge. The caveat in this case did not prevent the dismissal of the petition for administration, because there was no independent cause of action such as a counterclaim raised. The Court stated:
In the instant case, neither the caveat nor the answer referenced a counterclaim. Moreover, both submissions were devoid of the essential elements of any cognizable cause of action. Under these circumstances, Yife was authorized to abandon his effort to admit the disputed will and codicil to probate, and “[t]he trial court ha[d] no authority or discretion to deny the voluntary dismissal.” Pino, 121 So. 3d at 31. Because “[t]he dismissal [was] effective upon service,” any further litigation over the validity of the will was improper. Id. Accordingly, we discern no error and affirm.
Here, Henry raised assertions regarding the validity of the will and codicil in his caveat and answer. When Yife dismissed the petition for administration seeking to admit the will and codicil, Yife was no longer seeking the admission of these documents to probate, which should have come as some relief to Henry, who did not want the documents admitted.
