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Landau v. Landau
Citation: 230 So. 3d 127Docket: 17-1503
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; September 20, 2017; Florida; State Appellate Court
Original Court Document: View Document
The Third District Court of Appeal of Florida issued an opinion on September 20, 2017, regarding an expedited appeal from a non-final order that froze the assets of the Flois N. Landau Trust. David J. Landau, the appellant and trustee of the trust created by his late wife Flois Landau, is also the lifetime net income beneficiary. The appellee, Susan L. Landau, along with two other children, are remainder beneficiaries entitled to equal shares of the trust's net assets upon David Landau's death. David Landau has the authority to distribute quarterly net income and principal, subject to specified limits, and can make additional payments for his health and support. Susan Landau raised concerns when David failed to transfer approximately $2,000,000 in estate assets to the trust and did not provide required trust accountings. After filing a verified complaint in January 2016 to compel these accountings, David admitted to not having filed them. An unsigned 2015 accounting he provided was incomplete and showed excessive distributions beyond the trust's net income. Susan Landau then sought to amend her complaint to include allegations of breach of trust, removal of David as trustee, and a temporary injunction to freeze trust assets. She argued that David had made unauthorized distributions, failed to file necessary tax returns, and incurred excessive attorney's fees without proper notice to the court. At a February 2017 hearing, the trial court indicated that David's counsel would advise him on compliance with statutory requirements. However, by May 2017, David had still not filed the required 2016 accounting, corrected the 2015 accounting, or filed tax returns for 2015 and 2016, and he had not reopened the probate estate to facilitate the transfer of trust assets. The trial court issued an order to freeze trust assets pending the completion and filing of the 2016 trust accounting by David Landau. Following this order, Landau filed a notice of appeal and subsequently submitted the trust accounting. The appellate court reviewed the freeze order as an injunction aimed at preserving the estate and trust assets for the beneficiaries' protection, affirming the order unless there was a clear abuse of discretion. Landau's failure to file timely and accurate annual accountings constituted a breach of his fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries. The court dismissed Landau's due process argument, emphasizing the probate court's established jurisdiction to safeguard assets under its control. The pleadings from Susan Landau sufficiently informed David Landau of the claims against him and the requested relief. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's order.