IN RE ESTATE OF ANGELO ANGELERI

Fla. 4th DCA | 1991-03-13
No. 89-2104
DELL and GUNTHER, JJ., concur.
575 So. 2d 794 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1991) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

The court affirmed that the word "nephew" in Florida's estate administration statute permitting certain nonresidents to serve as personal representatives is limited to blood relatives of the deceased. The appellant, a nonresident who was nephew of the decedent's wives (not the decedent himself), was therefore ineligible to serve as personal representative despite being named in the will.


Holding

The court held that "nephew" under section 733.304(3) is limited to blood relatives of the deceased and does not include nephews of the decedent's spouses. Therefore, the appellant, who was only related to the deceased through marriage to the deceased's former wives, did not qualify as a "nephew" under the statute.


Headnotes

[1] The term "nephew" in a statute permitting nonresidents to serve as estate administrators is limited to blood relatives of the decedent.

[2] Statutory exceptions to the general requirement that estate representatives be Florida residents are to be interpreted narrowly to avoid unintended expansions of eligibil…

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Key Quotes

“While neither party has cited a decision interpreting this statute, the case law interpreting the word "nephew" in similar legal contexts has limited its meaning to blood relatives.”

Establishes the court's primary basis for interpreting "nephew" as limited to blood relatives based on consistent interpretation across jurisdictions.

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Facts & Procedural History

Angelo Angeleri died and named a nonresident as personal representative in his will. The appellant was the nephew of the deceased's first and second w…

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Opinion of the Court
ANSTEAD, Judge.

ANSTEAD, Judge.

We affirm the trial court’s order holding that the word “nephew” as used in the statute permitting certain non-Florida residents to serve as estate administrators is limited to blood relatives of the deceased. Appellant, a nonresident, is the nephew of the deceased’s first and second wives (both of whom predeceased him), and was named as personal representative in decedent’s will.

Section 733.302, Florida Statutes (1989), generally provides that personal representatives of Florida estates must be Florida residents. Section 733.304 provides certain exceptions to this residency requirement:

Nonresidents. A person who is not domiciled in the state cannot qualify as personal representative unless the person is:
(1) A legally adopted child or adoptive parent of the decedent;

(2) Related by lineal consanguinity to the decedent;1 (3) A spouse or a brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece of the decedent, or someone related by lineal consanguinity to any such person; or (4) The spouse of a person otherwise qualified under this section.

Appellant claims to fall within the provisions of subsection (3) as a “nephew” of the deceased, and concedes that this is the only possible provision which might cover him.

While neither party has cited a decision interpreting this statute, the case law interpreting the word “nephew” in similar legal contexts has limited its meaning to blood relatives. See Frederick v. Hoffman, 7 Ohio App.2d 27, 218 N.E. 2d 478 (1966); In re Estate of Platt, 147 N.Y.S.2d 716 (N.Y. Sur.1955); In re Horton’s Estate, 5 N.J.Super. 518, 68 A. 2d 658 (1949); Baldwin’s Coex’rs. v. Curry, 272 Ky. 827, 115 S.W. 2d 333 (1938); Meglemry v. Meglemry, 222 Ala. 229, 131 So. 906, 908 (1931). We believe the word should also be given that meaning here.

We agree with appellant that the rationale behind the rather expansive statutory scheme of exceptions set out in section 733.304 is difficult to comprehend. However, to accept appellant’s construction would result in the creation of additional classes of nonresidents entitled to serve as representatives, a result we do not believe contemplated by the legislature. Such a construction would also invite inconsistent and unreasonable applications of the listed exceptions. For instance, the word “brother” as used in the statute would not, in our view, include a spouse’s brother, a “brother-in-law” of the deceased. Logically, however, we would expect the spouse’s brother to be closer in the chain of relationships with the decedent than a child of the spouse’s brother. In other words, it would make little sense for the legislature to exclude the spouse’s brother from service as a representative, but allow service by a child of the spouse’s brother. DELL and GUNTHER, JJ., concur. . According to Black’s Law Dictionary (5th ed. 1979),

[l]ineal consanguinity is that [blood relationship] which subsists between persons of whom one is descended in a direct line from the other, as between son, father, grandfather, and so upwards in the direct ascending line; or between son, grandson, great-grandson, and so downwards in the direct descending line.

This is distinguished from collateral consanguinity, which Black’s defines as that [relationship] which subsists between persons who have the same ancestors, but who do not descend (or ascend) one from the other. Thus, the dictionary illustrates:

father and son are related by lineal consanguinity, uncle and nephew by collateral consanguinity.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Adriaan Angelus v. Pass, 868 So. 2d 571 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)
    …s never qualified to serve under Section 733.304. See In re Greenberg’s Estate, 390 So. 2d 40 (Fla.1980). Pass is expressly prohibited from serving as personal representative because Pass is a nonresident nephew-in-law. See In re Estate of Angeleri, 575 So. 2d 794 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)(nephew is related by collateral consanguinity not linear consanguinity); In re Chadwick’s Estate, 309 So. 2d 587 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975). Thus under Section 733.304 and Rule 5.310, Angelus, as an interested party, properly petitioned…
  • Beam v. State, 1 So. 3d 331 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)
    …ne is descended in a direct line from the other, as between son, father, grandfather, and so upwards in the direct ascending line; or between son, grandson, great-grandson, and so downwards in the direct descending line.’ ” In re Estate of Angeleri, 575 So. 2d 794, 794 n. 1 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (quoting Black’s Law Dictionary 275 (5th ed. 1979)). Collateral consanguinity is that relationship “ “which subsists between persons who have the same ancestors, but who do not descend (or ascend) one from the other [su…

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