CS for CS for SB 872 Summary

• Modifies probate notice requirements and objection deadlines by eliminating references to personal representative qualifications and establishing a 3-month period (extendable only for estoppel based on personal representative misstatement) to file objections to will validity, venue, or court jurisdiction, with a 1-year absolute deadline from notice service.

• Requires personal representatives to immediately resign if unqualified at appointment and file notice if they become unqualified afterward; makes unqualified personal representatives removable and liable for removal proceeding costs and attorney fees if they should have known of disqualifying facts.

• Substantially rewrites section 733.817 to comprehensively govern estate tax apportionment, including detailed definitions, allocation rules for various tax types, apportionment priorities for wills and trusts, and requirements for express directions in governing instruments regarding tax payment and recovery rights waiver.

• Permits courts to assess costs and attorney fees against beneficiaries' portions of estates and trusts based on equitable factors such as participation level, strength of claims, and unjust causation of increased expenses, without requiring proof of bad faith or wrongdoing.

• Applies provisions regarding personal representative qualifications retroactively to proceedings filed after July 1, 2015, while tax apportionment amendments apply variously retroactively or prospectively depending on specific subsections and decedent death dates; effective date July 1, 2015.