Schlesinger v. Schlesinger

Schlesinger v. Schlesinger, 186 So.3d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)

This case involved a dispute between the former spouse and the widow of a decedent regarding the right of the widow (as co-personal representative of the decedent's estate) to discover personal bank records of the former spouse.  The widow argued that she needed the discovery in order to determine whether the decedent had violated the terms of their post-nuptial agreement by making gifts to his former spouse, and decreasing the portion of his estate which would pass to the widow.  

The Court granted the former spouse's petition to quash the trial court's order denying her motion for protective order to bar discovery of her banks' records.  It held that the widow, as co-personal representative, has the right to his banks' records, which she could use to make the determination of whether improper gifts were made.  It also held that the discovery was premature, since no determination had been made that the widow was entitled to an accounting from the decedent's estate or that she was entitled to recover payments from the former spouse, citing to the general rule that the premature discovery of financial information would cause irreparable harm.

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