IN RE ESTATE OF LEON GARVEY, DECEASED. BERNARD GARVEY, APPELLANT,
v.
SAMUEL GARVEY, GILDA KAPLAN, MYRNA GARVEY, AND ALBERT GARVEY, APPELLEES

Fla. 3d DCA | 1967-02-28
No. 66-432
Before HENDRY, C. J., and CARROLL and BARKDULL, JJ.
196 So. 2d 36 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1967) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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.

Synopsis

Bernard Garvey, a co-executor and beneficiary under his brother's will, filed a petition to revoke probate alleging defective execution, but the probate court struck the petition based on a prior non-contest agreement Bernard had signed with other heirs. The court affirmed, holding that parties who have settled their interests through non-contest agreements are barred from challenging the will's validity.


Holding

The probate court properly enforced the non-contest agreement and may bar Bernard from challenging the will's validity. A probate court has jurisdiction to recognize and effectuate non-contest agreements among heirs and beneficiaries, and no evidentiary hearing is required when all interested parties have executed the agreement and the challenge is only to its legal effect rather than its execution or existence.


Key Quotes

“the court finds that the said parties are barred and precluded from proceeding with any petition for revocation of probate of the will of the deceased in contesting its validity.”

The probate court's finding that parties to non-contest agreements are barred from challenging the will.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Leon Garvey executed a will in 1961 devising 10% of his estate to his brother Bernard and 90% to his brother Samuel, naming both as executors. After t…

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.


Opinion of the Court
CARROLL, Judge.

CARROLL, Judge.

This is an appeal from an order of the probate court in Dade County striking and dismissing a petition to revoke probate of a will.

The testator Leon Garvey executed a will by which, after directing that his just debts and funeral expenses be paid, he devised and bequeathed ten per cent of his estate to the appellant, his brother Bernard Garvey, and the remainder of his property (ninety per cent) to another brother, Samuel Garvey; and named the two brothers as executors.

The will was duly offered, proved and admitted to probate. Thereafter, agreements not to contest the will were entered into between the two brothers and the children of a deceased brother. By such agreements the ten per cent share of Bernard Garvey was increased to seventeen per cent, the nieces and nephews (who were not provided for in the will) were awarded five per cent and Samuel Garvey’s interest was reduced accordingly from ninety per cent to seventy-eight per cent.

After the making of those agreements, the appellant Bernard Garvey filed a petition to revoke the probate of the will, alleging that upon investigation he “has learned, and so represents to the Court, that the will of Leon Garvey, dated the 4th day of September, 1961, was not executed nor acknowledged by the said Leon Garvey in the presence of the subscribing witnesses, and further that the witnesses did not subscribe in the presence of the testator or one another as is required by Florida Statute § 731.07.”

The co-executor Samuel Garvey moved to strike the petition to revoke probate, relying upon the agreement made by Bernard Garvey not to contest the will and attaching a copy of the agreement. Samuel Garvey also moved for an order removing Bernard Garvey as executor, on the ground that the petition taken by the latter in moving to revoke probate was inconsistent with his office as co-executor.

The order entered by the probate court contained the following recitations:

“The court finds that all of the heirs at law and next of kin of Leon Garvey, deceased, and all legatees and devisees under his will have entered into agreements not to contest the will of the said Leon Garvey, which agreements are recognized by this court, and by which the parties have thereby settled among themselves their respective interests in this estate and, accordingly, the courts finds that the said parties are barred and precluded from proceeding with any petition for revocation of probate of the will of the deceased in contesting its validity. * * * ”

*38The contention of the appellant that the probate court was without jurisdiction to entertain, confirm and effectuate the agreement between the parties is without merits. See Wells v. Menn, 154 Fla. 173, 17 So.2d 217.

Also, we must reject the further contention of the appellant that the probate court committed error by recognizing and effectuating the agreement without a trial and evidentiary hearing. The agreements involved were entered into by all of those who would have taken under the will or by intestacy, and the challenge of the agreements in the probate court was not as to their execution or existence, but as to their legal effect.

No reversible error having been made to appear, the order appealed from should be and hereby is affirmed.

Affirmed.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • In re Est. of Leon Garvey v. Garvey, 212 So. 2d 790 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968)
    …judges’ court denying their petition for reasonable attorneys’ fees for legal services rendered by them, in successfully defending against an appeal taken by the appellee, Bernard Garvey, in a prior matter. See: In re Estate of Garvey, Fla.App.1967, 196 So. 2d 36, cert. den. Fla., 201 So. 2d 558. In this prior matter, the appellants did not file a motion for attorneys’ fees in this court pursuant to Rule 3.16, Florida Appellate Rules, 32 F.S.A. Upon remand, the appellants petitioned the county judges’ court…
  • In re Est. of Leon Garvey, 201 So. 2d 558 (Fla. 1967)
    …Certiorari denied without opinion. 196 So. 2d 36.…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw