In re Trust of Adean E. Wines (Williams v. Wines)
A granddaughter obtained an ex parte order appointing herself trustee of a family revocable trust by filing a petition that named no adverse parties, issued no summons, and served no one; the trial court entered the order without a hearing and later refused to set it aside because the contingent beneficiary's counsel had received a mailed copy. The Fifth DCA held that trust proceedings must be commenced by complaint under section 736.0201(1) and governed by the Rules of Civil Procedure, that contingent beneficiaries are indispensable parties who must be joined and served, and that actual notice is no substitute for service of process.
Key facts
- A granddaughter petitioned to appoint herself trustee of a family revocable trust by filing an ex parte petition that named no adverse parties, issued no summons, and served no one.
- The trial court entered an order appointing the granddaughter as trustee without a hearing and without joining or serving the contingent beneficiary, despite the beneficiary's counsel receiving a mailed copy of the petition.
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Why it matters
A clean, citable statement that trust proceedings are ordinary civil actions requiring a complaint, summons, and service — not informal petitions — and that contingent beneficiaries are indispensable parties… — full analysis with a trial
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