IN RE ESTATE OF WILLIAM J. FLEMING, DECEASED. JANICE M. BECKLUND, APPELLANT,
v.
DONNA M. FLEMING, AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM J. FLEMING, DECEASED, APPELLEE
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The court held that the two-year statutory period of non-claim for estate actions is absolute and cannot be extended, even if a personal representative fraudulently induced a creditor to delay filing.
[1] A two-year period of non-claim following a decedent's death is a jurisdictional statute that is not subject to waiver or extension.
[2] The statute of non-claim for claims against a decedent's estate is an absolute bar that a court lacks the power to avoid.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA creditor, the decedent's former wife, sought to bring an action against the estate more than two years after the decedent's death. She alleged the p…
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KLEIN, J.
Although William Fleming died in 1995, no estate was opened for probate until 1997, more than two years after Fleming’s death. The issue on appeal is whether the decedent’s former wife, who is a creditor, can bring an action against the estate after the running of the statutory two year period of non-claim, if the person who became personal representative fraudulently induced her to delay filing her claim.
Section 733.710 provides in part:
(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the code, 2 years after the death of a person, neither the decedent’s estate, the personal representative (if any), nor the beneficiaries shall be liable for any claim or cause of action against the decedent, whether or not letters of administration have been issued, except as provided in this section.
This statute has been construed by the Florida Supreme Court to be a “jurisdictional statute of nonclaim that is not subject to waiver or extension in the probate proceedings.” May v. Ill. Nat’l Ins. Co., 771 So. 2d 1143, 1150 (Fla.2000). See also Comerica Bank & Trust F.S.B. v. SDI Operating Partners, L.P., 673 So. 2d 163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (section 733.710 is “an absolute bar-akin to a statute of repose-that the court lacks the power to avoid”).
Appellant argues that there are exceptions to the two year bar, citing Humana Medical Plan, Inc. v. Estate of Durant, 650 So. 2d 201 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). Although it is true that, in Durant, this court remanded for further proceedings which might have resulted in a claim being filed against an estate more than two years after the death of the decedent, this court did not address section 733.710, and it may not have been raised. More significant is the fact that any question about whether any claim can be filed more than two years after the death of the decedent has been cleared up by the supreme court’s decision in May. To the extent it conflicts with May, Durant is no longer good law.
We therefore affirm.
DELL and GUNTHER, JJ„ concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Becklund v. Fleming, 869 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…filed in the probate proceedings more than two years after the expiration of the two-year statute of nonclaim imposed by section 733.710, Florida Statutes (1993), was ultimately held to be barred. See Becklund, v. Fleming (In re Estate of Fleming), 786 So. 2d 660 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). The Fourth District held that the Creditor’s contention that she had been fraudulently induced to delay filing her claim in the estate was ineffective to extend the bar of the statute of nonclaim. Id. at 661. See generally May v…
Authorities Cited
- David R. MAY Ad Litem of the Estate of Oscar T. Bradley v. Ill. Nat'l Ins. Co., 771 So. 2d 1143 (Fla. 2000)
- Comerica Bank & Tr. v. SDI Operating P'rs, L.P., 673 So. 2d 163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
- Humana Med. Plan, Inc. v. Est. OF Sonja Durant, 650 So. 2d 201 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)