Timely Creditor Claims & the Relation Back Doctrine

In Florida, filing a timely creditor claim can create litigation issues. These claims must be filed in the probate proceeding within two years after death. If a personal representative publishes a notice in the local newspaper, the creditors have three months to file a claim.

In Richard v. Richard, a notice to creditors was published one day before appointing the two personal representatives. The trial court ruled that the published notice was not valid, and therefore, the creditor claim was not late. The appellate court, however, reversed and relied on the “relation back” doctrine to ratify the sequence of events. The court concluded that the powers of a personal representative relate back in time to give the acts prior to the appointment the same effect as those after the appointment.

See Jeffrey Skatoff, Relation Back Doctrine Validates Notice to Creditor Published Prior to Appointment, Florida Probate Lawyers, July 10, 2016.