WALTER ALEXANDRE HOUCK CRUZ
v.
RICHARD A. NEELY
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An appellant lacks standing to appeal a probate distribution order when his sole claim to being an interested person is based on a will that has been finally adjudged a forgery and invalidated.
[1] An "interested person" for purposes of probate appeals is defined by statute as any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular…
[2] Appeals of orders rendered in probate cases are limited to orders that finally determine a right or obligation of an interested person as defined in the Florida Probate C…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved”
Definition of 'interested person' under Fla. Stat. § 731.201(23)
Walter Alexandre Houck Cruz appealed a distribution order in the probate estate of Daniel Alen Neely. Cruz's claim to interested person status relied …
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Opinion filed April 28, 2021. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D21-626 Lower Tribunal No. 19-4354
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Walter Alexandre Houck Cruz,
Appellant,
vs.
Richard A. Neely, et al.,
Appellees. An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Milton Hirsch, Judge. Walter Alexandre Houck Cruz, in proper person. Chepenik Trushin LLP, and Daniel F. Bachman and Danielle Birman, for appellees. Before SCALES, MILLER and LOBREE, JJ. ON MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL PER CURIAM.
In this probate appeal, appellant Walter Alexandre Houck Cruz seeks review of the trial court’s February 17, 2021 Distribution Order.1 Appellees Richard A. Neely and Carolyn S. Neely, as personal representatives of the estate of Daniel Alen Neely, argue in their motion to dismiss that appellant does not have standing in this Court to seek review of the Distribution Order. We agree and dismiss the appeal.
For appellant to have standing in this Court to seek review of the Distribution Order, he must be an “interested person” as defined by chapter 731 of the Florida Statutes, Florida’s Probate Code. Section 731.201(23) of the Florida Statutes (2021) defines an “interested person” as “any person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the particular proceeding involved.” See also Fla. R. App. P. 9.170(b) (“[A]ppeals of orders rendered in probate . . . cases shall be limited to orders that finally determine a right or obligation of an interested person as defined in the Florida Probate Code.”).