Founding Partner

Attorney Adrian Philip Thomas is a shareholder and founding partner of Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A., a boutique, 11 attorney law firm located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has practiced law for the past 29 years, maintaining an office in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. Mr. Thomas is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been selected on multiple occasions as one of Florida’s Legal Elite by Florida Trend Magazine. Mr. Thomas concentrates his practice in estate litigation, both prosecuting and defending, which includes matters involving estates, trusts, and probate. He represents clients with disputes throughout the State of Florida.

Attorney Adrian Philip Thomas has a Master of Laws from the University of Miami, a Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Florida.

Attorney Adrian Philip Thomas has lectured at continuing legal education seminars on various probate topics.

Notable Results

Adrian Thomas is the founding partner of Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A., which opened its doors on July 1, 2002. Mr. Thomas represents both plaintiffs and defendants and has successfully litigated cases involving claims of undue influence, lack of capacity, and tortious interference with an inheritance. Mr. Thomas’s firm has recovered more than $175 million for its clients.

Some of Mr. Thomas’s notable results include:

• $15 Million Dollars – Trust Litigation.  Case involving litigation related to a major change to estate plan orchestrated by a lawyer who installed himself as a fiduciary in order to be paid fees in perpetuity to the detriment of decedent’s children.  Changes were made to the trust by the lawyer at a time when the testator was dying of cancer and heavily medicated.
• $8.3 Million Dollars – Will Contest, Trust Contest, and Tortious Interference.  The case involving a challenge to a charitable trust created by decedent’s CPA and estate planning attorney that diverted the decedent’s entire gross estate to that trust and installed the CPA and attorney as the fiduciaries thereby securing a lifetime “annuity” of fees.  The charitable trust also permitted the CPA and drafting attorney to name anyone – including their family members – to succeed them as fiduciaries.
• $6,500,000 – Trust Litigation.  Case involving major change to estate plan orchestrated by family member seeking to install himself as a fiduciary for ongoing fees. 
• $6,100,000 – Trust Litigation.  Case involving challenge to the validity of several trust amendments procured by the decedent’s son effectively disinheriting the decedent’s other children.  The initial challenge to these trust amendments was brought in the decedent’s guardianship proceeding wherein the court found that the decedent lacked capacity.  The litigation continued post death and resulted in Plaintiffs receiving all the assets to which they were entitled before the undue influence.
• $6,000,000 – Trust Litigation.   Case involving major change to estate plan orchestrated by lawyer seeking to benefit his own relationship with banking institution to the detriment of decedent’s family members.  Changes were made to a trust by the lawyer at a time when the settlor was suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.

Awards & Accolades

In 2004, Mr. Thomas earned the highest “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which means that an attorney has reached the highest level of professional excellence and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity.  Mr. Thomas maintains that designation to this day.  Also, Mr. Thomas earned a “10-Superb” rating from Avvo and has been recognized by:

• Forbes Florida Legal
• Florida Trend’s Legal Elite 
• South Florida’s Top-Rated Lawyers
• The American Lawyer 
• The National Advocates, Top 100 Lawyers
• Legal Leaders, Top-Rated Lawyers
• 2024 Avvo Top-Rated Lawyer
• 2021 Top-Rated Lawyer by the Daily Business Review

Mr. Thomas is admitted to the Florida Bar; the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida; and the United States Court of Appeals.  Mr. Thomas is credited with three published appellate court opinions that are of ongoing significance to the trust and estate litigation area of practice:

• Woodward v. Woodward, 192 So.3d 528 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)
• Gossett v. Gossett, 182 So.3d 694 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)
• Schilling v. Herrera, 952 So.2d 1231 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)

Mr. Thomas was born on November 10, 1966, in Isle of Wight, England.  He immigrated to the United States when he was 11 years old and met his wife, Michele MacLean Thomas, during high school in Boca Raton, Florida.  The two attended college and law school together and married in 1990.  Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have two grown children.

Reviews

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” - Socrates

The lawyers at Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A. strive to be competent and passionate advocates for their clients while maintaining high levels of professional courtesy and ethical conduct. For twenty years, we have been serving the needs of clients with probate administration and estate litigation disputes throughout the State of Florida. We are proud to have earned the gracious thanks of many clients over the years.

Dear Adrian, Oh happy days! I could not have found finer legal representation. I will be eternally grateful to you. Thank you so much. You took on a complicated case over multiple jurisdictions made overly complex so I could never prevail. Your staff, your firm, absolutely everyone attended to me with the utmost courtesy, skill and promptness. Thank you, Adrian, for fighting so hard for me. Warmest regards, E.S.

To read more of the client thank you notes sent to attorneys at the firm, please click here.

In addition to kind words from our clients, Adrian Thomas is “Superb” rated by AVVO and AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, which is a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.

Education

• University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, Master of Laws in Estate Planning, 2000
• Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad School of Law, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Juris Doctor, 1993
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, Bachelor of Science, Political Science, 1990

Bar Admissions

• Florida, 1993
• United States District Court, Southern District Of Florida, 1994
• United States Court Of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 1995
• The American Bar Association
• The Florida Bar Association
• The Broward County Bar Association
• Estate Planning Council of Broward
• Stephen Booher Inn of Court

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Featured Speaker, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education Seminar, December 8-10, 2010: The Probate Process from Start to Finish: Administering the Estate Effectively and Managing the Inventory.
• Featured Speaker, Brevard Estate Planning Council, Celebrity Estate Plans-Trials and Triumphs, September 2009: The Importance of Probate Counsel : Lessons Learned from Celebrities’ Probate Problems.
• Featured Speaker, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education Seminar, September 2008: Estate Administration Procedures: Why Each Step is Important, Foundations of Estate Administration Defined
• Featured Speaker, Broward County Guardianship Association, March 2007
• Featured Speaker, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education Seminar, January 2007: The Probate Process from Start to Finish for Paralegals
• Featured Speaker, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education Seminar, December 2006: The Probate Process from Start to Finish, Litigating the Case in Probate Court
• Featured Speaker, North Dade/South Broward Estate Planning Council, November 2006.
• Featured Speaker, National Business Institute, Continuing Legal Education Seminar, June 2006: Estate Administration Procedures: Why Each Step is Important, Foundations of Estate Administration Defined
• Featured Speaker, Lorman Education Services, Continuing Legal Education, September 2005: Litigation of Estates, Trusts and Guardianships in Florida Seminar, Rights of the Surviving Spouse

Publications

• ActionLine, Volume XXXX, No. 2, Winter 2018-2019, Death Probate and Due Process: Do the Notice Requirements Under the Florida Probate Code and Rules Pass Constitutional Muster?
• ActionLine, Volume XXVIII, No. 4, Summer 2007, The Right to Know: Advice Regarding Notice of Probate to Disinherited Relatives