In re Estate of Pearce

Summary

The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed an order allowing an amended probate inventory to remove stock that the trial court found was held in trust rather than owned individually by the decedent. The court held that parol evidence could establish a trust in personal property and that testimony from the decedent's attorney was not barred by Florida's Dead Man's Statute.

Holdings

1. The parol evidence rule did not bar evidence offered to establish that the stock certificates constituted the corpus of a trust in personal property, rather than to alter the terms of a written contract.
2. The decedent's attorney was competent to testify because he was not an interested party within the meaning of section 90.602, Florida Statutes (1983).

Questions Presented

1. Whether parol evidence was admissible to establish that stock certificates issued in the decedent's individual name were held in trust as personal property.
2. Whether testimony by the decedent's attorney concerning the decedent's instructions was barred by Florida's Dead Man's Statute.

Disposition

affirmed