JOHN PITCHER, APPELLANT,
v.
OLGA WALDO, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF CHRISTINA PITCHER, DECEASED, FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE ESTATE AND SURVIVORS THEREOF, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The probate court properly lacked jurisdiction to decide a father's petition for declaratory judgment seeking a greater share of a wrongful death survivor's award, because survivor claims do not become estate assets and thus fall outside probate jurisdiction.
A probate court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate a dispute over the division of a wrongful death survivor's award between the father and mother, because survivor claims are for the survivors' sole benefit and do not become part of the estate.
[1] Survivor claims in a wrongful death action are for the survivors' sole benefit and do not become part of the decedent's estate, placing disputes over survivor awards outs…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA jury awarded $1,000,000 to the mother as a survivor in a wrongful death suit and $100,000 to the father, with no recovery to the daughter's estate. …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Estate Assets cases and more on FLexlaw
Appellant challenges a final summary judgment in which the probate court determined that it was without jurisdiction to decide appellant’s petition for declaratory judgment. Appellant had filed the petition in the probate proceedings of his deceased daughter, claiming entitlement to a greater portion of a jury award to survivors in a wrongful death suit filed by the mother, as *423personal representative of the daughter’s estate. He alleged that he had an agreement with the mother to share any award to survivors 60/40. A jury awarded the mother $1,000,000 as a survivor but awarded only $100,000 to the appellant. It awarded no recovery to the daughter’s estate. Appellant sought relief pursuant to section 733.815, Florida Statutes (2012), which provides that interested persons can agree to alter their shares of property from an estate. That statute is inapplicable, because the estate had no assets. Although a wrongful death claim must be brought by the personal representative of the estate of the deceased, the survivor’s claims are for their survivors’ sole benefit and do not become part of the estate. See § 768.21, Fla. Stat. (2012); Hartford Ins. Co. v. Goff, 4 So.3d 770, 773 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). As the alleged agreement was between the father and mother but not the estate, the trial court correctly concluded that it had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute.
Affirmed.
WARNER, MAY and GERBER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Castellanos v. Next Door Co., 192 So. 3d 431 (Fla. 2016)…015); Ferrer v. Truly Nolen of Am., Inc., 164 So. 3d 700 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015); Flores v. Vanlex Clothing Corp., 160 So. 3d 961 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015); Mayorga v. Sun Elecs. Int'l, Inc., 159 So. 3d 1032 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015); Leon v. Miami Dade Pub. Schs., 159 So. 3d 422 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015); Gonzalez v. McDonald's, 156 So. 3d 1127 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015); Diaz v. Palmetto Gen. Hosp./Sedgwick CMS, 146 So. 3d 1288 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014); Pfeffer v. Labor Ready Se., Inc., 155 So. 3d 1155 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014); Richardson v. Ara…
Authorities Cited
- Allen v. State, 4 So. 3d 770 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- The Hartford Ins. Co. v. Goff, 4 So. 3d 770 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)