Sharing What We Know About Florida Probate Law.
Sharing What I Know About Florida Probate Law.
Will Contests: Challenging a Florida Will to Get It Thrown Out
When someone passes away, any property titled in their name immediately becomes part of their “estate.” An estate is a legal entity created under the law to help protect both real estate and personal property (things like jewelry, furniture, guns, etc.) as it is...
Challenging an Inheritance in Florida: Meeting the In Re Carpenter Factors in a Florida Will Contest
Today, Florida Statute 733.107 has been passed to override part of the Florida Supreme Court’s decision back in 1971, when the famous (at least in legal circles) case came down: In re Estate of Carpenter, 253 So.2d 697 (Fla. 1971). The Florida Legislature can pass...
Death and Taxes: Common Taxes in Estate Planning and Florida Probate
Before tomorrow’s April 15th deadline, people will be making financial decisions, like depositing funds in an IRA (individual retirement account), in an effort to pay less federal income tax. Some of these tax decisions can also be used as part of an estate planning...
Florida Probate Lawyer Costs and the Attorneys’ Fees Statute in Florida
One of the biggest questions involved in probating someone’s estate after their passing is how much will the probate process before a Florida Probate Court itself cost? There are variables here depending upon each case, of course. Different kinds of property may...
How to Avoid Florida Probate: 5 Ways to Transfer Your Property Other than a Will
Ask most people here in Florida about how they will pass along their property to their kids or spouse or favorite charity, and odds are high that they’ll say they are doing this with their Last Will and Testament. After all, writing your will is a traditional and...
When Are Constructive Trusts Created by Florida Judges?
In Florida, a constructive trust is a legal remedy that judges use to help people who have been harmed in all sorts of situations, including in probate controversies, divorce cases and with business torts like tortious interference with a business relationship. Said...
Can a Trust Be Created By a Florida Judge to Remedy Wrongdoing Related to a Decedent’s Property?
Ask most people what a “trust” is all about, legally-speaking, and they’ll probably describe some form of estate planning tool that goes along with a Last Will and Testament and/or a Life Insurance Policy. This answer isn’t wrong: lawyers draft trust documents all the...
Deathbed Marriages in Florida: Why This is a Recipe For An Undue Influence and Will Contest Claim Against the Surviving Spouse
Quick marriages or secret weddings close to someone’s death, particularly when they are of a certain age, aren’t just the stuff of murder mysteries — they happen more often than many people realize; so much so, in fact, that the Florida Legislature actually addressed...
Exploiting Elders in Florida: How Family Members Financial Abuse of Seniors is a “Public Health Epidemic”
This month, lots of people that don't deal with senior citizen issues or the realities of end of life planning and elder law got a big, huge slap in the face as Dr. Mark Lachs called elder financial abuse by family members a "national epidemic." That's right - right...
Fraud or Undue Influence Challenges to a Florida Will
An attorney preparing a Florida Will must be aware of the law dealing with the testator’s intentions being replaced by the intentions of another. A Florida Will can be declared invalid if it can be proved that it was procured through fraud or undue influence. F.S....