In re Estate of Davol
Florida District Court of Appeal
100 So. 2d 188 (1958)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Lillian Davol died intestate, leaving only nieces and nephews as her intestate heirs. Davol had three siblings, John, Harriet, and William, all of whom predeceased her. Harriet had three children, William had two children, and John had six children (John’s children) (plaintiffs), one of whom died after Davol. The county court ruled that Davol’s estate must be distributed per stirpes among her nieces and nephews, meaning that the children of each of Davol’s siblings would split the share to which that sibling would have been entitled had the sibling not predeceased Davol. John’s children appealed, arguing that distribution should be per capita among the nieces and nephews equally because they were all related to Davol with the same degree of consanguinity. John’s children argued that Florida caselaw had traditionally applied per stirpes distribution only if the intestate heirs were related to the decedent in unequal degrees. The circuit court affirmed, and John’s children appealed again.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Drew, J.)
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