Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

plan. The court found that Brown was of sound mind at the time he
executed the will and trust agreement and that he had painstakingly
developed his estate plan (including explicit instructions regarding who
should inherit) over a number of years. Consequently, the court found
there was no reasonable basis to believe Brown was unduly influenced and
no good faith claim made by the adult children and purported wife. The
court also held that the compromise agreement was not just and
reasonable. To be just and reasonable, an estate plan in a settlement
agreement must defer to the testator’s intent unless departure is necessary
to protect the interests of the beneficiaries. The court found the
compromise orchestrated by the attorney general destroyed the estate plan
Brown had established and put in place an arrangement overseen virtually
exclusively by the attorney general. The result was to take a large portion
of Brown’s estate that he had designated for charity and to turn it over to
family members that, under the terms of Brown’s will, were given either
limited devises or excluded entirely. The court found the attorney general
had no authority to direct the settlement in this fashion and, therefore, the
compromise agreement could not be approved.
X. Jurisdiction by Act of Foreign Personal Representative: 4-301
1. Juega v. Davidson, 105 So.3d 575 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2012). A foreign
personal representative does not personally submit to the jurisdiction
of U.S. courts by merely participating in a civil action in his capacity
as personal representative. Decedent died testate in Spain and was
survived by his son and brother. Friend, a citizen and resident of Spain,
was appointed by the Spanish court to serve as administrator of decedent’s
estate. At the time of his death, decedent was the director of a foreign
corporation; by virtue of his appointment as personal representative, friend
became the director of the corporation after decedent’s death because it
was an asset of the estate. The corporation filed suit against decedent’s
brother in Miami, Florida, seeking repayment of a note based upon a $5
million loan made by the corporation to brother prior to decedent’s death.
Friend, as personal representative of the estate, joined the suit and asserted
additional claims on behalf of the estate. While this litigation was
ongoing in Miami, the decedent’s estate was fully administered and closed
in Spain, and friend was discharged from his duties as personal
representative. Following friend’s discharge, brother moved to dismiss
friend’s claims for lack of standing. Brother argued that the real party in
interest was decedent’s son since he was decedent’s sole heir and, as such,
inherited decedent’s interest in the underlying lawsuit. Son filed an
affidavit in support of friend’s standing which stated that friend was acting
as son’s agent in prosecuting the action on son’s behalf. The court held
that friend lacked standing after his discharge as personal representative,
but he was ultimately allowed to proceed as son’s agent. Thereafter,
brother filed a counterclaim against friend in his individual capacity for
civil conspiracy and conversion. Friend moved to dismiss the counts
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