♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in elder law,estate plan,florida estate planning,florida probate attorney,florida probate lawyer,Last Will and Testament,Sarasota attorney at Wednesday, August 26, 2015
The parents of a deceased child were
the sole heirs of the child’s estate. The child’s remains were cremated, and
the parents could not agree on the final disposition of his assets. The father
petitioned the probate court to divide the ashes equally among the mother and
father as the heirs of the child.
The Florida’s probate code defines
“property” as “both real and personal property or any interest in it and
anything that may be the subject of ownership.” The probate court found that
the ashes were not “property” subject to division in accordance with the
division of other property of the decedent, and the appellate court agreed. The
appellate court noted that while there is a legitimate claim of entitlement by
the next of kin to possession of the remains of a decedent for burial or other
lawful disposition, this does not give rise to a property right and does not
convert those remains to “property” for disposition purposes.
