Florida Statute 733.610
“Sale, encumbrance, or transaction involving conflict of interest”
What it means
Florida's self-dealing rule for estates. Any sale or encumbrance to the personal representative — or to the PR's spouse, agent, or attorney, or to any corporation, entity, or trust in which any of them holds a substantial beneficial or ownership interest — and any transaction affected by a conflict of interest on the PR's part, is voidable by any interested person. It does not matter whether the price was fair.
There are three ways such a deal stands: the objecting person consented after fair disclosure; the will or a contract of the decedent expressly authorized the transaction; or the transaction was approved by the court after notice to interested persons.
- Sales or encumbrances to the PR, the PR's spouse, agent, or attorney — or entities any of them substantially own — are voidable.
- Any transaction affected by a conflict of interest on the PR's part is voidable too.
- Any interested person may void it — except one who consented after fair disclosure.
- Safe harbor one: the will or a contract of the decedent expressly authorized the transaction.
- Safe harbor two: court approval after notice to interested persons.
How it plays out
A PR buying from the estate is more common than people expect — the PR wants the house, or the family business needs the estate's equipment. We route every one of these through the second safe harbor: a petition, notice to everyone, an appraisal in the file, and an order. It is not expensive, and it converts a transaction any heir could later unwind into one nobody can. The trap is that voidable does not require proving an unfair price — the conflict alone is enough.
Questions people ask
