- 29 - she was the only beneficiary and personal representative of the estate and she needed funds. He believed that the claims against the estate, not including those made by respondent, could be paid from the Peoples State Bank account. His testimony and that of the revenue agent show that the funds initially deposited in the accounts at C&S were from Mr. Riffe's estate. Petitioners suggest that Mrs. Pert owned the contents of the safe deposit boxes (and the other items in the inventory) with Mr. Riffe as tenants by the entireties. We disagree. There is no tenancy by the entireties between spouses if a surviving spouse has no control over a safe deposit box, even if the surviving spouse had access to it. Bechtel v. Estate of Bechtel, 330 So. 2d 217 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1976). Mrs. Pert had neither access to nor control of the safe deposit boxes. Also, Mrs. Pert did not claim that she owned the cash or other property with Mr. Riffe as tenants by the entireties in the Preliminary Notice and Report filed with the Florida Department of Revenue. b. Whether Respondent's Claim Arose Before Mr. Riffe's Estate Transferred Assets to Mrs. Pert To establish liability under Fla. Stat. Ann. section 726.106(1) (West 1988), respondent must prove that respondent's claim arose before Mr. Riffe's estate transferred assets to Mrs. Pert. Petitioners contend that respondent's claim had not arisen when the transfers were made because respondent had not yetPage: Previous 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Next
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