Estate of Huskea v. Doody
Florida District Court of Appeal
391 So. 2d 779 (1980)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Victor Huskea died intestate and was survived by 15 cousins and his natural son, Paul Doody (defendant). Paul had been formally adopted by Daniel Doody approximately 36 years prior to Huskea’s death. The personal representative for the estate of Victor Huskea (plaintiff) filed a petition for determination of the beneficiaries of the estate. The probate court held that Paul was entitled to inherit Huskea’s intestate estate as his natural child because, at the time Paul was adopted, Florida intestate law allowed adopted children to inherit the intestate estate of the birth parents. Although Florida law changed between Paul’s adoption and Huskea’s death to prevent adopted children from inheriting from the birth family, the probate court reasoned that the new statute could not be applied retroactively and that Paul was therefore entitled to inherit. The estate appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Glickstein, J.)
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