## Facts

- George Rimmer and Mildred Rimmer, husband and wife, suffered fatal injuries in an automobile accident on May 1, 1965.
- Within minutes of the crash, a medical doctor came upon the scene and examined both George and Mildred.
- The doctor testified that George was already dead when examined, but Mildred was still breathing and had a pulse.
- The doctor further testified that Mildred lived for approximately 15 minutes after the doctor’s initial examination.
- Both George and Mildred were dead by the time an ambulance arrived.
- The death certificates for both George and Mildred listed the time of death as approximately 9:00 a.m. on May 1, 1965.
- George and Mildred owned real property and numerous bank accounts held in joint title with right of survivorship.
- Marina Tesla, as administratrix of Mildred’s estate, contended that Mildred survived George, so the Uniform Simultaneous Death Act (USDA) did not apply and all joint assets became part of Mildred’s estate for probate.
- Frank Rimmer, as administrator of George’s estate, argued that the death certificates were prima facie evidence of simultaneous death and that the estates should share the joint assets under the USDA.
- The trial court found that George predeceased Mildred and ruled that all jointly held assets were part of Mildred’s estate. Frank Rimmer appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether the USDA applies when a doctor’s testimony provides evidence that one spouse survived the other by several minutes, even though both death certificates list the same approximate time of death.
2. Whether the death certificates’ approximate, identical times of death controlled the order-of-death determination, or could be rebutted by medical testimony based on observed vital signs.

## Decision

- The District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District, affirmed.
- The court upheld the trial court’s finding that George died before Mildred.
- The court concluded that the doctor’s testimony supplied sufficient evidence that the deaths were not simultaneous, so the USDA did not govern distribution of the joint assets.
- Because Mildred survived George, she became the surviving joint tenant and took full title to the jointly held property; upon Mildred’s death minutes later, those assets passed through Mildred’s estate.

## Legal Principles

- The USDA applies only when there is no sufficient evidence that the decedents died other than simultaneously; evidence of survivorship, even for a short interval, keeps the case outside the statute.
- A death certificate’s stated time of death is prima facie evidence and may be overcome by other credible proof concerning the sequence of deaths.
- Testimony from a physician who examined the parties shortly after an accident and observed breathing, pulse, or lack of vital signs can support a finding of survivorship without establishing an exact clock time for death.
- The order of death is a question of fact for the trial court, and an appellate court will not disturb that finding when supported by competent evidence.
- When survivorship is shown, ordinary joint-tenancy rules apply: the surviving joint tenant takes the entire jointly held property by right of survivorship, and it then becomes part of the survivor’s estate if the survivor dies thereafter.

## Conclusion

The First District affirmed the probate ruling that George predeceased Mildred based on the doctor’s observations that Mildred was still breathing and had a pulse and lived about 15 more minutes. The matching approximate times on the death certificates did not require a finding of simultaneous death because they were only prima facie proof and were rebutted by the medical testimony. As a result, the USDA did not apply, Mildred took full title to the joint property as surviving joint tenant, and the joint assets properly passed through Mildred’s estate.


Rimmer v. Tesla, 201 So. 2d 573 (1967)