What Is the Federal “Probate Exception”?

Probate litigation is generally a subject reserved to state courts. This is, quite simply, because probate is a matter of state law in the United States. Yet there are probate disputes that sometimes implicate questions of federal law or jurisdiction. Does this mean that federal courts can also hear and decide probate litigation?

Keeping Probate Disputes in Florida’s Courts

In general, the answer to this question is no. The United States Supreme Court has long recognized a “probate exception” to federal jurisdiction. Under this exception, a federal court must generally refrain from hearing a case where it otherwise has jurisdiction if resolving the case would require the judge to (1) probate or annul a will, (2) administer an estate, or (3) dispose of property that is in the custody of a state probate court. But as the Supreme Court explained in a 2006 decision, the probate exception “does not bar federal courts from adjudicating matters outside those confines and otherwise within federal jurisdiction.”

Here are a couple of examples to help illustrate when the probate exception may (or may not) apply. In this first case, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC v. Chopin (2022), a law firm sought payment of fees in connection with a Florida guardianship case where they represented the petitioner. When the guardian insisted this required a separate legal action, the law firm filed suit in federal court. The judge dismissed the case, however, citing the probate exception. The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit later affirmed, explaining that any determination of attorney’s fees was “part of the guardianship administration process,” and therefore fell within the second category of the probate exception, i.e., the administration of an estate.

The second case, Fisher v. PNC Bank, NA (2021), went the other way. Here, the plaintiff and her mother co-owned an investment account. The mother then transferred the money in that account to a new account with the defendant. This new account excluded the daughter as a co-owner. More to the point, the daughter alleged her brother stole funds from this new account for his own benefit. After the mother died, the daughter sued the defendant in federal court, alleging it aided and abetted her brother’s scheme to deprive her of her joint ownership of the original brokerage account.

The defendant moved to dismiss under the probate exception. While the district court granted that motion, the 11th Circuit reversed on appeal. In this particular case, the appellate court said the probate exception did not apply, as the federal courts could adjudicate the plaintiff’s claims “without probating her mother’s will, administering the estate, or disposing of the estate’s property.” Critically, the plaintiff sought damages from the defendant and not her mother’s probate estate; indeed, the plaintiff’s argument was that the money she lost due to the defendant’s actions “were never properly subject to probate proceedings at all.”

Contact a Davie Probate & Estate Litigation Lawyer

Family disputes over money often lead to litigation after a loved one has died. If you are in this unfortunate position and need legal advice from a qualified Davie probate and estate litigation attorney, contact Valero Law today at 305-607-7011 to schedule a free consultation. We serve clients in Davie, Broward County, Coconut Grove and Miami-Dade County.

Sources:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8151321340177017915

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13047197701741985963