Court Opinion

ID: 9391868
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-03 15:04:18.503391+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:19.457673
License: Public Domain

Third District Court of Appeal
                                 State of Florida

                          Opinion filed May 3, 2023.
       Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

                             ________________

                              No. 3D22-1193
                       Lower Tribunal No. 21-4499 CC
                            ________________

                              Barry Kilcoyne,
                                   Appellant,

                                          vs.

                         Joseph P. George, Jr.,
                                       Appellee.

      An Appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Stephanie
Silver, Judge.

     South Florida Appeals, PA, and Wm. Allen Bonner, for appellant.

     Elliot L. Miller, for appellee.

Before LOGUE, HENDON and LOBREE, JJ.

     HENDON, J.
      Barry Kilcoyne, personal representative of the estate of Ralph Muir,

seeks to reverse a final order of the County Court of the Eleventh Judicial

Circuit in Miami-Dade County in favor of Joseph P. George, Jr.’s claim for

attorney’s fees arising out of the administration of the estate. We reverse.

      Because the circuit court has exclusive jurisdiction over proceedings

relating to the settlement of the estates of decedents, including

proceedings to determine a probate lawyer’s compensation, we conclude

that the county court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to determine

this fee dispute. § 26.012(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (2023); § 733.6175, Fla. Stat.

(2023); § 733.106(4), Fla. Stat. (2023); see also In re Est. of Udell, 501 So.

2d 1286, 1288 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986); Faulkner v. Woodruff, 159 So. 3d 319,

322 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015) (holding that “the Florida probate court has

exclusive   jurisdiction   [over   matters   relating   to   probate   attorney’s

compensation] and is obligated to review estate fees upon the petition of a

proper party”) (citing In re Winston, 610 So. 2d 1323, 1325 (Fla. 4th DCA

1992)).

      Accordingly, we reverse the order on appeal, and remand the cause

with instructions to transfer the case to the circuit court for further

proceedings. Due to the disposition of the jurisdictional issue, we decline to

reach the merits of the issues on appeal.

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Reversed and remanded.

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