Court Filings

The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's termination of the guardianship of the property for ward Milton Wallace under Florida Probate Rule 5.680. Appellant Hardy Wallace argued co-guardians Mark Wallace and Angel Insua misrepresented the estate had no assets and that the guardianship was prematurely ended. The appellate court concluded Hardy failed to provide the trial hearing transcript, preventing review of factual findings, and applied the presumption that the trial court's factual determinations were correct. Because guardianship decisions are reviewed for abuse of discretion, the court affirmed.

The Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal brought by the Estate of Kanellos D. Charalampous after the appellant filed a motion requesting dismissal because it no longer desired to pursue the appeal. No other party had appealed and no opinion had been issued. The court granted the motion under the applicable Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and dismissed any other pending motions as moot.

The Fourth Court of Appeals reversed a probate court's summary judgment that had declared Reynaldo Hernandez’s 2022 will invalid on grounds of forgery. The probate court had accepted a contestant’s handwriting expert affidavit and voided the will despite the document bearing a notarized self-proving affidavit. The appeals court held that a will with a self-proving affidavit carries a statutory presumption of valid execution and that competing competent evidence about the signature created a genuine fact issue. Because summary judgment was improper when credibility and weight of evidence are disputed, the court reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

The Appellate Division affirmed the Chancery Division's May 14, 2025 order denying the executors' motion to compel arbitration of will/trust disputes under Samuel Hekemian's 2002 will. The court held the will's arbitration clause is not a valid, enforceable waiver because interested parties did not mutually assent to arbitrate or knowingly relinquish their right to court adjudication. The court also held arbitration clauses in testamentary instruments that would displace statutory court supervision of estates conflict with New Jersey's Probate Code, so the disputes must remain subject to court proceedings.