In re Estate of Frank Shefner, Frank Shefner, Jr., and Deborah Shefner Van Horn v. Linda Shefner-Holden and Susan Gorman

Summary

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal held that proceeds from the sale of homestead property devised directly to a qualified heir remained exempt from the decedent's creditors' claims and estate administrative expenses. The court also held that the devisees were entitled to attorney's fees and expenses for successfully defending a Slayer Statute claim because their defense effectuated the decedent's testamentary intent. The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

Holdings

1. Homestead property devised directly to a qualified heir passes outside the probate estate, and the heir's subsequent sale of the property does not make the proceeds available to satisfy the decedent's creditors' claims or the estate's administrative expenses when the will did not direct a sale.
2. Beneficiaries who successfully defend a Slayer Statute claim are entitled under section 733.106(3), Florida Statutes, to reimbursement from the estate for reasonable attorney's fees and expenses when their defense effectuates the decedent's testamentary intent.

Questions Presented

1. Whether homestead property devised directly to a qualified heir remains protected from the decedent's creditors' claims and estate administrative expenses after the heir sells the property.
2. Whether beneficiaries who successfully defend a Slayer Statute claim are entitled to attorney's fees and expenses under section 733.106(3), Florida Statutes.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded