INGRID DIANA GRIEM, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF RONALD GRIEM, APPELLANT,
v.
ANITA BECKER, APPELLEE
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The Florida District Court of Appeal reviewed a circuit court order that set aside a determination of heirs to Ronald Griem's estate. The court affirmed the partial vacation of the original order determining heirs but reversed the portions declaring the marriage valid and stating the daughters were not beneficiaries, finding the court exceeded its authority and failed to hold a hearing as required by probate rules.
The court affirmed the portion of the order setting aside the original determination of heirs but reversed all remaining portions that declared the marriage valid and stated the daughters were not beneficiaries, finding the court lacked authority to make these determinations without a hearing as required by Florida Probate Rule 5.385(c).
[1] A court order determining heirs and declaring a marriage void ab initio may be set aside.
[2] A court cannot make a final determination of beneficiaries or the validity of a marriage without a formal hearing after notice.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“After formal notice and hearing, the court shall enter an order determining the beneficiaries or the shares and amounts they are entitled to receive, or both.”
Establishes the procedural requirement under Florida Probate Rule 5.385(c) that a hearing must precede any order determining heirs
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRonald Griem died and his daughters, Ingrid Diana Griem and Deborah Griem Posada, filed a petition to determine heirs. The circuit court entered an or…
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CORTINAS, Judge.
Appellant seeks review of an order (the “Order on Appeal”) setting aside a determination of the heirs to the estate of Ronald Griem (the “Decedent”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 9.110(a)(2), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure.
The circuit court entered an order on October 10, 2006, determining that Ingrid Diana Griem and Deborah Griem Posada (collectively “Griem’s Daughters”) were the heirs to the Decedent’s estate and declaring the Decedent’s purported marriage to the appellee, Anita Becker, null and void (the “Original Order”).1 Specifically, the Original Order provided in pertinent part:
A. That as a matter of law, [Griem’s Daughters are] entitled to the relief sought in the Petition to Determine Heirs.
B. That the Petition to Determine Heirs is hereby GRANTED.
C. That the purported marriage between the decedent, Ronald Griem and Anita Becker is declared null and void (ab initio).
D. That the beneficiaries of the Estate are determined to be:
Name Relationship Estate Share
INGRID DIANA
GRIEM Daughter 50%
DEBORAH GRIEM
POSADA Daughter 50%
Pursuant to appellee’s motion, the court set aside the Original Order and issued the Order on Appeal which stated in pertinent part:
1. The Motion to Set Aside Order Determining Heirs is hereby GRANTED.
2. The Order Determining Heirs dated October 10, 2006, is hereby set aside and shall have no legal effect. INGRID DIANA GRIEM and DEBORAH GRIEM POSADA are not the beneficiaries of the Estate of Ronald Griem.
3. The marriage between the decedent, RONALD GRIEM, and ANITA BECKER is declared to be in full force and effect since its inception as recognized by the State of Florida.
(Emphasis added.)
It appears that the court endeavored to simply negate the language in the Original Order, but exceeded its intended result. However, while the circuit court attempted to set aside the prior determination as to the heirs, it confusingly stated that Griem’s Daughters “are not beneficiaries.” The language used by the court in the Order on Appeal can be interpreted as making a final determination as to whether Griem’s Daughters are beneficiaries of Decedent’s estate. Likewise, the court specifically “declared” the marriage between the Decedent and appellee “to be in full force and effect since its inception,” despite the fact that the validity of the marriage is being contested in appellant’s petition to determine heirs.
Florida Probate Rule 5.385(c) provides that following the filing of a petition to determine heirs, “[a]fter formal notice and hearing, the court shall enter an order determining the beneficiaries or the shares and amounts they are entitled to receive, or both.” Here, there is no indication in the record that a hearing was held on either the determination of heirs or on the validity of Decedent’s marriage to appel-lee.
Accordingly, we affirm Paragraph 1 of the Order on Appeal and Paragraph 2, to the extent that it reads “[t]he Order Determining Heirs dated October 10, 2006, is hereby set aside and shall have no legal effect,” and reverse as to all remaining portions.
Reversed and remanded.
. The Original Order was entered because appellee failed to timely file a response to appellant’s petition to determine heirs.