McDonald v. Johnson
Florida District Court of Appeal
83 So. 3d 889 (2012)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Paul McDonald, decedent, owned McDonald Construction Corporation (MCC). MCC was held as an asset of the Paul McDonald Revocable Trust of 1991 (the 1991 Trust), of which Wiley Johnson (defendant) was the trustee. Sandra McDonald (plaintiff), Paul’s surviving spouse, filed a petition for discovery of financial information from MCC to determine whether the value of MCC’s stock had increased during her marriage to Paul due to Paul’s efforts. Johnson, along with Paul’s family, objected to the discovery petition, arguing the increase in value of MCC’s stock was not a marital asset at the time of Paul’s death and was therefore excluded from the elective-share calculation. The probate court quashed Sandra’s discovery petition, holding that MCC was not part of the probate estate and that the value of the stock was excluded from Sandra’s calculation of the elective share. Sandra appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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