Dennis v. Kline

In 2011, a beneficiary of a 1989 trust adopted a 27-year-old woman whom she had known since birth and treated like a daughter. The adoption impacted those who would inherit under the trust, so another beneficiary brought suit in Florida seeking to modify the trust to exclude the adoptee as a potential beneficiary. The circuit court granted summary judgment, excluding the 27 year old from becoming a beneficiary of the trust. We reverse because the issue of the settlor’s intent in creating the trust was not appropriately resolved on summary judgment.

Thomas Gordon Dennis (“the Settlor”)…