Terms Used In Florida Statutes 86.041

  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
Any person interested as or through an executor, administrator, trustee, guardian, or other fiduciary, creditor, devisee, legatee, heir, next of kin, or cestui que trust, in the administration of a trust, a guardianship, or the estate of a decedent, an infant, a mental incompetent, or insolvent may have a declaration of rights or equitable or legal relations to:

(1) Ascertain any class of creditors, devisees, legatees, heirs, next of kin, or others;
(2) Direct the executor, administrator, or trustee to refrain from doing any particular act in his or her fiduciary capacity; or
(3) Determine any question relating to the administration of the guardianship, estate, or trust, including questions of construction of wills and other writings.

For the purpose of this section, a “mental incompetent” is one who, because of mental illness, intellectual disability, senility, excessive use of drugs or alcohol, or other mental incapacity, is incapable of managing his or her property or caring for himself or herself or both.