SUPER LAWYERS 2025: Alexander J. Retamar (Zander)

We are proud to announce that Alexander J. Retamar (Zander) has been rated in 2025 by Super Lawyers on the Florida Rising Stars list. This is an honor reserved for those lawyers who exhibit excellence in practice. Only 2.5% of attorneys in Florida receive this distinction.

Alexander “Zander” J. Retamar, Esq., LL.M. is an Associate Attorney with the firm. Mr. Retamar focuses his practice on Trust, Estate, and Guardianship Litigation & Administration, and Estate Planning & Asset Protection. Mr. Retamar earned his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Prior to obtaining his LL.M. degree, Mr. Retamar earned his J.D. from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical (FAMU) College of Law where he graduated Cum Laude, and served as Associate Articles Editor for Law Review. In addition, Mr. Retamar was appointed as Chief Judge of the Student Circuit Court by his peers, and served as President of Intramural Sports during his time at the College of Law.

Prior to obtaining his J.D., Mr. Retamar earned his B.A. in Criminology with a minor in Psychology from Villanova University where he was a four-year scholarship student-athlete for the Wildcats baseball team. During his time at Villanova, he participated in the Leadership Institute and was a Special Olympics Volunteer. Zander is a Boca Raton native, and is also active in the community. Zander currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Young Lawyers Section of the South Palm Beach County Bar Association, and on the Junior Board of Directors of the Caridad Center, and is an active Member of the Greater Boca Raton Estate Planning Council. Click here to learn more.

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HPM Wins Trust Dispute Judgment of Over $1million in Palm Beach County Court: Judge Finds Trustee Breached Her Fiduciary Duty and Awards Assets to Son in Complex Trust Litigation Dispute

Three attorneys from Huth, Pratt & Milhauser Law Firm in Boca Raton, FL: Brandan J. Pratt, Zander J. Retamar, and Michael W. Kirshon successfully obtained a million-dollar judgment in a trust dispute between a son and daughter involving allegations of breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty. The parents of the son and daughter had established separate trusts during their lifetime. The father died and the mother was serving as sole trustee of both trusts. Then, the daughter took control of both trusts as sole trustee. The mother was the sole beneficiary of her lifetime, with the son and daughter as residuary beneficiaries.

After two days of trial, the presiding Judge found in favor of the son. The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that when the daughter started serving as trustee, each trust consisted of approximately 1 million dollars – mainly Oil & Gas stocks. The mother was in assisted living and the dividends from the large amount of Oil & Gas stocks maintained her customary standard of living. At trial, testimony was presented from the financial advisor that reflected that the daughter made significant cash transfers to her son directly from the trusts. Aside from cash transfers, the daughter took out a margin loan against the Oil & Gas stocks in order to fund her son’s business venture. The evidence and testimony suggested that none of the funds from the margin loan were utilized for the benefit of the mother. In addition, the trial court found that the daughter was frequently utilizing trust assets deposited to a joint account to pay for her personal expenses. Later, the decrease in oil prices forced a margin call of the Oil & Gas stocks and the entirety of the remaining stock was forced to be liquidated. Later, there were no assets left in the trusts. The son successfully argued that the transfers made by the daughter as trustee presented an inherent conflict of interest, constituted a serious breach of fiduciary duty to the mother, and had the stock not been liquidated due to the margin call, the son would have inherited significant assets under the Trust agreement. The trial court agreed and awarded the son a total of $1.15 Million in damages.

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HPM Wins Unique Will Contest Case! Miami-Dade County Trial Court Denies Grandson’s Request to Admit a Lost or Destroyed Will and Required the Estate Be Administered Intestate

Two attorneys from Huth, Pratt & Milhauser in Boca Raton, FL: Brandan J. Pratt and Zander J. Retamar, representing the daughter of the Decedent, successfully challenged the request for admission of a copy of a Miami-Dade Decedent’s Last Will and Testament in a volatile family dispute involving competing Petitions for Administration of the Decedent’s estate. The Decedent had three children – two sons and one daughter. The Decedent’s grandson filed a Petition for Administration, and a copy of the Decedent’s Last Will and Testament (“Will”) which was executed in 2006. The Will named the Decedent’s grandson and granddaughter as the sole beneficiaries of the Decedent’s estate – effectively cutting out the Decedent’s children, and other grandchildren. The daughter of the Decedent objected to the Petition for Administration and filed a Counter-Petition for Administration seeking to have the Decedent’s estate administered pursuant to the laws of intestacy – effectively splitting the estate into equal shares between the Decedent’s three children.

After a contentious hearing, the presiding Judge found in favor of the Decedent’s daughter. The Judge found the Decedent’s daughter to be very credible, and the evidence submitted by the Decedent’s daughter at trial suggested that the Decedent intended to revoke his Will prior to his death, and the Decedent’s estate should be administered pursuant to the laws of intestacy. As a result, Huth, Pratt, & Milhauser was able to secure the Decedent’s daughter a one-third (1/3) interest in the Decedent’s estate instead of Zero!

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