Ernest Chavis is a South Carolina insurance agent who previously had some business dealings with a 91-year-old woman named Annie Belle Weiss. On July 20, 2004, Chavis visited her and, at some point in the conversation, Weiss asked him “Can you help me make a will?” She wanted “someone objective”…
How can you tell if a Will has been altered? Most of the time you cannot tell by simply looking at the document. Often these documents are “tampered with” behind the scenes: friends, relatives, heirs or neighbors pressure, threaten or trick someone into changing, modifying or preparing a new Last…
Gerry Beyer, author of the Wills, Trusts & Estate Professors Blog has a post on his blog Becoming a “Pet Friendly” Estate Planner which points to an article he wrote in Legal Times. “Your Trust-worthy Pet” discusses the history of providing for pets which began in England in 1889. Now…
In Florida, and many other states animals are now allowed to be the beneficiaries of a special trust that is created to take care of them. These are often referred to as a Florida Pet Trust. Today I was reading an article published in Arizona which stated that a Dog…
The other day, I wrote an article on the pitfalls of using a Free Florida Durable Power of Attorney. I have been thinking of a way to provide a good power of attorney for my readers. I have been unable to come up with a generic form that I feel…
Many of my clients have been asking me to post a copy of my Florida Estate Planning Questionnaire in a Microsoft word document so they can fill in and forward me the information online. This information will be useful to any Florida Estate Planning Lawyer in the creation of an…
In Florida and many other states animals are now allowed to beneficiaries of a special trust that is created to take care of them. These are often referred to as a Florida Pet Trust. Today I was reading an article published in Arizona where a letter to the editor basically…
Rules regarding wills are usually based upon where the will was created. The general rule is that when a Will is valid at the time of creation, Florida will honor the will. There is an exception to this and it regards certain handwritten or holographic wills. a Holigraphic Will is…
Although a Power of Attorney often authorizes the agent to give gifts, agents should be careful when making gifts to themselves. The Chicago Tribune has an article on an agent who gave herself $180,000 in gifts and the ensuing court battle over theft by deception, financial exploitation of an elderly…
A Los Angeles judge has decided that the young daughter of former Playboy bunny and television personality Anna Nicole Smith will inherit her estate. Although Smith’s will, drafted before her now 18-month-old daughter was born, gave everything to her son, Daniel, it also said she intended that the assets in…