RACHELLE LORETO KAVANAUGH
v.
DIANE M. THOMAS, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF CHRISTOPHER SCOTT KAVANAUGH
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A surviving spouse, as the statutorily preferred person to serve as personal representative of an intestate estate, must be appointed unless the record demonstrates she is disqualified or otherwise unfit to serve.
[1] In an intestate estate, the surviving spouse is the statutorily preferred person to be appointed personal representative, and a trial court may decline to appoint the pre…
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 intelligence“a party having preference and who is not disqualified by the statute does not have an absolute right to the appointment”
The court explained the nature of statutory preference in personal representative appointments, citing DeVaughn v. DeVaughn.
Christopher Scott Kavanaugh died intestate in August 2021. The trial court appointed his mother, Diane Thomas, as personal representative instead of h…
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FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________ Case No. 5D2023-2032 LT Case No. 2022-CP-46817 _____________________________ RACHELLE LORETO KAVANAUGH, Appellant, v. DIANE M. THOMAS, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Christopher Scott Kavanaugh, Appellee. _____________________________ On appeal from the Circuit Court for Brevard County. Christina Serrano, Judge. Brice Zoecklein, of Zoecklein Law, PA, Brandon, for Appellant. David Lee Ham, Jr., of The Law Offices of David Lee Ham, Jr., PA, Jacksonville, for Appellee. July 12, 2024
SOUD, J.
Appellant Rachelle Kavanaugh, the wife of decedent Christopher Scott Kavanaugh, appeals the trial court’s order appointing the decedent’s mother, Appellee Diane Thomas, as personal representative of the decedent’s estate. We reverse because Appellant, as the surviving spouse, is the statutorily
1.
The surviving spouse.
2.
The person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs.
3.
The heir nearest in degree. If more than one applies, the court may select the one best qualified. § 733.301(1)(b)1.–3., Fla. Stat. (2022) (emphasis added). Consistent with the plain language of the statute, which declares the “preference” courts are obliged to follow,1 we have recognized “that a party having preference and who is not disqualified by the statute does not have an absolute right to the appointment.” DeVaughn v. DeVaughn, 840 So. 2d 1128, 1133 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003) (emphasis added) (citing In re Est. of Snyder, 333 So. 2d 519, 520 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)). Trial courts are vested with the “inherent authority to consider a person’s character, ability, 1 Black’s Law Dictionary defines “preference” as: “The favoring of one person or thing over another[;] . . . The quality, state, or condition of treating some persons or things more advantageously than others.” Preference, BLACK’S
LAW
DICTIONARY (11th ed. 2019).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- DeVAUGHN v. DeVAUGHN, 840 So. 2d 1128 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)
- Env't Farms, Inc. v. The Honorable Susan W. Roberts, 676 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)