While in private practice, Attorney Peggy Gehl successfully litigated several probate cases, including estates, trusts and guardianships. One of her cases made new law in The Florida Supreme Court. See Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children, Petitioner v. Lorraine E. Zrillic, Respondent; Estate of Lorraine Romans, Petitioner v. Lorraine E. Zrillic, 563 So.2d 64 (Fla. 1990), a charitable devise case wherein Testator disinherited her natural daughter leaving her residuary estate to the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children.

Upon her appointment as a General Master in the 17th Judicial Circuit in 1989, Judge Peggy Gehl’s first division was probate– determining plenary or limited incapacities, monitoring guardianship reports and accountings, and in mental health–conducting Baker and Marchman Act hearings. One of her first assignments was streamlining court processes for the recently-enacted guardianship statutes contained in Chapter 744, F.S.

In 1995, Judge Peggy Gehl was appointed to the Broward County Bench, where she was assigned to a criminal division. During her 15 years on the County Bench, Judge Gehl was called upon by the three probate Circuit judges on numerous occasions to sign files in their absence, including attorneys’ fee requests, guardianship fee requests, guardianship account withdrawals, orders on petitions to open estates, issuing letters of administration, orders opening safety deposit boxes, orders on petitions for discharge of personal representatives, and closing of estates, and a variety of probate matters.

Upon her retirement from the bench in 2010, Judge Peggy Gehl was designated by the Florida Supreme Court as a Florida Senior Judge, which position she enjoys today. Besides sitting in the Unified Family Court and Domestic Violence for 3 years, Judge Gehl sat four days/week for nearly a full year in 2014 and 2015 in Judge Mel Grossman’s probate division during his illness. She was personally asked to take over the division by Judge Grossman, with whom she had worked executing orders over the years. Chief Judge Weinstein approved the assignment.

During the time Judge Peggy Gehl sat in a probate division, she conducted several trials and cleaned up a backlog of older cases. To insure she maintained currency with the law, she joined the RPPTL section of the Florida Bar, the Florida and Broward County Guardianship Associations, and the Elder Law section of both the Florida Bar and Broward Bar.