Attorney Richard Lee Pearse Jr.'s Legal Cases

Appeals

Thigpen v. Ash, 45 So.3d 547 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)

Oct 13, 2010

OUTCOME: Appeal Dismissed

I represented the decedent's heirs in a curatorship in which the curator made an untimely appeal of an attorney's fee order.

Probate

Price v. Abate, 9 So.3d 37 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)

Mar 06, 2009

OUTCOME: Summary judgment in favor of my clients and successful defense of appeal

I represented the decedent's intestate heirs in an adversary proceeding to establish and admit the decedent's lost will to probate. I was able to establish that the lost will was not properly executed ... . The court ruled that the decedent died intestate and the estate was distributed to my clients.

Trusts

Provost v. Justin, 19 So.3d 333 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)

Feb 17, 2009

OUTCOME: Appellate court reversed judgment against my clients and declared them beneficiaries of the disputed trust

In this case, the decedent amended a trust created by her and her husband after his death to exclude his children as beneficiaries. I represented the stepchildren and sought to have the trust amendmen ... t nullified because it was not executed by the husband, who by that time had died. The trial court ruled the amendment was valid. On appeal, the District Court of Appeal reversed, indicating that the provisions of the trust required both grantors to execute the amendment. Since the amendment was only executed by the decedent, it was invalid.

Trusts

Roberts v. Sarros, 920 So.2d 193 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)

Feb 15, 2006

OUTCOME: Appellate court reversed judgment against my client and declared her the sole beneficiary of the disputed trust

My client and her brother were beneficiaries of a trust created by their parents. After their father died, their mother amended the trust to exclude the brother as a beneficiary. When the mother died ... , my client was sued by her niece and nephew who claimed their father's share of the trust, alleging the amendment to be invalid because it was executed by only one of the two grantors. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the niece and nephew. On appeal, the District Court reversed, holding that the provisions of the trust permitted the surviving grantor to amend it.

Appeals

Pavlides v. Roussis, 764 So.2d 769 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)

Jul 07, 2000

OUTCOME: Adverse judgment reversed in favor of my client

My client was accused of unduly influencing an elderly relative to make a will in his favor. After losing at trial, I was engaged to handle the appeal. The District Court found that the trial judge's ... decision was not supported by competent, substantial evidence and reversed with instructions that the will at issue be admitted to probate.

Guardianship

In re Guardianship of Meyer, 672 So.2d 90 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)

Apr 19, 1996

OUTCOME: Criminal conviction of indirect criminal contempt reversed

I represented the guardian of an elderly person charged with indirect criminal contempt. At trial, the judge found her in contempt and sentenced her to six months in jail. The District Court reversed ... the judgment, holding that the manner in which the guardian was originally charged did not comport with due process.