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.
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