RICHARD KARL GOETHEL, PETITIONER,
v.
LONNIE LAWRENCE, RESPONDENT

Fla. 3d DCA | 1992-05-19
No. 92-1063
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and BASKIN and LEVY, JJ.
599 So. 2d 232 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1992) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases
Topics
Personal Representative Duties Duties Personal Representative Waiver Of Privilege

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Opinion of the Court
SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.

SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.

The petitioner was formerly the personal representative of an estate being administered in the Dade County Circuit Court. He is imprisoned for contempt until he obeys an order to render a truthful accounting as required by sections 733.508 and 733.901(1), Florida Statutes (1991), and now seeks a writ of habeas corpus on the ground that his refusal was justified by the assertion of a Fifth Amendment claim that the accounting would incriminate him. We deny the application because the privilege was waived. This is true both (a) as a result of Goethel’s knowing acceptance of the appointment as personal representative, which statutorily requires the rendering of such accountings; see Estate of Baehr, 408 Pa.Super. 172, 596 A. 2d 803 (1991); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 119 B.R. 945 (E.D.Mich.1990), and (b) because he made numerous prior representations and responses to the court concerning the subject of the accounting without then raising the privilege. Matter of Scarfia, 104 B.R. 462 (M.D.Fla.1989), appeal denied, 129 B.R. 671 (M.D.Fla.1990).

The technical objection to the form of the commitment order is likewise without merit. Revell v. Dishong, 129 Fla. 9, 175 So. 905 (1937).

Habeas Corpus denied.

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Citator

Cited By

  • In re Professional Guardian Martha Wright. Martha Wright v. State, 668 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
    …STONE, Judge. We affirm an order holding Martha Wright, a court-appointed guardian, in contempt for refusing to file an accounting as ordered by the court. Goethel v. Lawrence, 599 So. 2d 232 (Fla. 3d DCA1992). Over several years, Appellant had been appointed to serve as guardian or co-guardian for thirteen different individuals. Pursuant to these appointments, Appellant was duly sworn to “faithfully administer the duties of such guardi…
  • Moises Wahnon v. Coral & Stones Unlimited Corp. (Fla. 3d DCA 2020)
    …er.” State v. Spiegel, 710 So. 2d 13, 16 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) (citing Smith v. United States, 337 U.S. 137, 150 (1949)). Coral & Stones cites two cases in support of the claim that Wahnon waived the privilege by his testimony. In Goethel v. Lawrence 599 So. 2d 232, 233 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992), this Court held that a party waived the privilege after he knowingly accepted a position as personal representative, which statutorily required him to produce an accounting of an estate, and “he made numerous prior represent…

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