Jonathan A. Galler jgaller@floridatax.com

Jonathan represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in high-stakes estate, trust and guardianship disputes. He works closely with the estate and tax planning lawyers at the firm to come up with the most effective solutions and options available for clients. These can include litigating undue influence claims, will and trust contests, inheritance disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, trust construction and modification actions, or similar probate and trust matters, from the early stages of negotiation and mediation through trial and appeal.

Jonathan is a former Chair of the Probate Rules Committee of the Florida Bar, a standing committee of the Florida Bar that writes and revises the statewide rules governing probate and guardianship, and he is on the Executive Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar. He is a frequent author and speaker on probate and trust litigation topics.

Jonathan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 2003, and he received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 2000. In law school, Jonathan was selected to be a moot court advisor as a second-year student and a legal writing instructor as a third-year student. After graduation, Jonathan clerked for Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold in the Eastern District of New York. He is admitted to practice in Florida and New York.

Jonathan lives with his wife and their two children in Boynton Beach.

Education

• University of Pennsylvania, J.D. 2003
• Columbia University, B.A. 2000

General Areas of Practice

• Probate, Trust and Guardianship Litigation and Administration:
• Will and Trust Contests
• Undue Influence Claims
• Surcharge and Removal Actions
• Compensation Disputes
• Will and Trust Construction Actions
• Modification, Revocation and Termination Actions
• Accounting Actions and Distribution Disputes
• Incapacity Proceedings and Guardianship Appointments
• Restoration of Capacity Proceedings
• Ad Litem Appointments

Federal Clerkship

• The Honorable Steven M. Gold, EDNY (2003-2004)

Admitted to Practice

• State of Florida
• State of New York

Federal Court Admissions

• Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals
• Second Circuit Court of Appeals
• D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
• Southern District of Florida
• Middle District of Florida
• Northern District of Florida
• Southern District of New York
• Eastern District of New York

Awards and Recognitions, Community Involvement

• Super Lawyers - Estate and Trust Litigation (2021, 2022)
• Florida Trend’s 2021 Florida Legal Elite (2021)
• Super Lawyers Rising Star – Estate and Trust Litigation (2013 - 2017)
• Member of Inaugural Class of ACTEC Florida Fellows Institute
• Member, Board of Directors, Ruth and Norman Rales Jewish Family Services (2012-2018)
• Member, Board of Trustees, Donna Klein Jewish Academy (Present)
• Special Commendation from the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, The Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Pro Bono Coordinators Association 2010

Professional Affiliations

• Member, The Florida Bar
• Executive Council Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section of the Florida Bar (“RPPTL”)
• Co-Vice Chair, Publications (Florida Bar Journal, RPPTL
• Chair, Probate Rules Committee of the Florida Bar (2017-2018)
• Co-Chair, Professionalism Committee, Palm Beach County Bar Association (2021-2022)
• Member, Code and Rules of Evidence Committee of the Florida Bar
• Member, Rules of Judicial Administration Committee of the Florida Bar (2016-2017)
• Member, New York State Bar Association
• Member, Trust Law Committee, RPPTL
• Member, Probate and Trust Litigation Committee, RPPTL
• Member, Probate Law and Procedure Committee, RPPTL

Publications and Presentations

• Author, Florida Law of Trusts (Westlaw 2020 ed.)
• Speaker, “Things to Know, Before You Go,” Anshei Chesed Congregation of Boynton Beach, March 2020
• Speaker, Mediations, Trust Boot Camp, Probate and Guardianship Committee of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, March 2019
• Author, “What’s the Difference Between Escheated and Unclaimed Funds?” WealthManagement.com, May 2018
• Speaker, Show Me the Money, RPPTL Webinar Series, 2017
• Speaker, Practitioner’s Guide to the Probate Rules, Probate Law and Procedure Committee, November 2017
• Author, “Estate Not Liable for Car Accident After Decedent’s Death,” WealthManagement.com, June 2017
• Co-Author, “I’m Still Standing: Revocable Trusts – Do Beneficiaries Have Standing to Assert Claims Against Trustees?” ActionLine, Summer 2017
• Author, “Slayer Statute Not Applicable,” WealthManagement.com, April 2017
• Author, “Did Decedent’s New Will Revoke Trust?” WealthManagement.com, November 2016
• Co-Author, “Revisiting Pope and Creditors’ Notices – For Certain States, Has Florida Clarified the Rules?” Probate & Property Magazine, September/October 2016
• Moderator, Probate Boot Camp, Probate and Guardianship Committee of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, May 2016
• Author, “This Party’s Dead! But Will the Lawsuit Survive?” Florida Bar Journal, May 2016
• Author, “Validity of Trust Protector’s Amendment to Florida Trust,” WealthManagement.com, June 2015
• Author, “Fight Over Fortune of Murdered Fontainebleau Hotel Heir Continues,” WealthManagement.com, January 2016
• Co-Author, “When Moving From New York to Florida, Consider Estate Planning Differences,” New York Law Journal, August 2015
• Author, “Pay-on-Death Accounts Not Part of Estate,” WealthManagement.com, April 2015
• Author, “How Courts Handle Late-Filing Estate Creditors,” WealthManagement.com, November 2014
• Speaker, Contesting Revocable Trusts in Florida, New York State Bar Association, September 2014
• Author, “Statutory Proposals for Settlement In Probate and Trust Litigation,” ActionLine, Spring 2013
• Co-Author, “Florida Update,” Trust and Estates Law Section Newsletter of the New York State Bar Association (2011-2018)
• Co-Author, “Rules of Civil Procedure Corner,” Palm Beach County Bar Association (2011-2016)
• Speaker, Trust Boot Camp, Palm Beach County Bar Association, 2019