Estate Not Liable for Car Accident After Decedent’s Death

There is a gap between the passing of a decedent and the appointment of their personal representative. In Florida, once a personal representative is appointed, he is authorized to go back in time to authorize acts performed prior to his appointment that are beneficial to the estate. A recent case before a Florida court posited the question of whether or not the personal representative was simply allowed to make such authorizations, or if he had a legal duty to make such authorizations.

The question brought before the court stemmed from a car accident. The daughter of Christian Schnitzpahn, the decedent, occasionally used her father’s car prior to his death. After her father’s death and prior to the appoint of a personal representative, the daughter hit another vehicle while driving her father’s car. The passengers in the vehicle filed suit against Schnitzpahn’s estate. They alleged that the freshly assigned personal representative had an affirmative duty to take control of the vehicle prior to his appointment to the position. The Florida court declined to take this position. The court held that the intent of the legislature was to shield personal representatives from liability prior to taking the position as personal representative and that there was no duty to act prior to appointment.

See Jonathan A. Galler, Estate Not Liable for Car Accident After Decedent’s Death, Wealth Management.com, June 23, 2017.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.