Whether you live in Florida, New York, California or any state and are the owner of a Toyota car, truck, or SUV, your Toyota Automobile may have just dropped in value. We all know there will be many Class Action Lawsuits against Toyota. Here is one class action that you…
Florida Revocable Trust’s as well as those created in other states often have language that provides for the health, education, maintenance, and support of our spouses and children. Recently I was reading an article written by a CA Estate Planning Lawyer and firearms instructor on providing firearms training as an…
Most people would not believe that a family pet needs to be subjected to the Florida Probate process, but Florida Law defines animals as personal property and as such are subject to probate just like other personal property. Fortunately we can create provisions in our Florida Revocable Trust to deal…
Will Contest Clauses are generally included to prevent children or beneficiaries from attempting to dispute their portion of an estate. In some states they are valid and many others like Florida they are not valid by statute. Given that a No Contest Clause in a Will is invalid in a…
Many of my Jacksonville Estate Planning clients ask me when and how often they should review their Florida Estate Plan. I like to recommend that people take a look at their situation on a yearly basis and if they notice any of the following, they should make an appointment with…
As the use of genetic material becomes more accepted, the issue of what and how to deal with it has begun to be an important part of estate and trust planning and administration. Not only could this change distributions or dilute inheritance, but without guidelines or requirements for the disposition…
Florida Revocable Trust‘s are often used to avoid problems. The North Carolina Estate Planning Blog has an interesting article on when you should not use a Living Trust. 1. You want the court to dictate how your estate is handled. 2. You favor supporting the government, so you like the…
Florida Estate Planning Documents can be lost during a hurricane or tropical storm. Just when a Florida Will, Power of Attorney, or Florida Living Will, Designation of Health care Surrogate & HIPAA release. You should protect your original signed documents by keeping them in with in waterproof container and if…
Trust Arbitration Clauses are common in Florida. In many states, they are not always enforced but Florida passed a law a few years ago that makes them enforceable in Trusts. Florida Statute 731.041 Arbitration of disputes. (1) A provision in a will or trust requiring the arbitration of disputes, other…
Matthew Gardner an Estate Planning Lawyer who writes the Iowa Estate Plan Blog has an article on a child conceived after death and how his state and Social Security treats this child as not being an heir of the decedent. The Iowa Probate Code and many states specify that in…