New Florida Statutes §732.806, which is effective October 1, 2013, makes an improper gift to a lawyer in a will or other estate instrument void. The new statutory provision is here: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.806.html The new Florida statute in effect tracks 4-1.8(c), Rules Regulating The Florida Bar and incorporates it into the…
An agent is someone you chose to act on your behalf. If an agent acts on your behalf and under the scope of his or her authority, then you will more likely than not be bound to his or her decisions. However, your agent has the fiduciary duty to act…
At face value, “tortious interference” occurs when someone interferes with some sort of expectation to a level that prompts judicial involvement. It often occurs in a business context, referred to as “tortious interference of business expectations,” and typically involves a defendant who has interfered with another party’s contract expectations. A…
The recent decision of a Florida appellate court has shed some light on a little discussed aspect of tort and probate law in the state of Florida. The Third District Court of Appeals ruled in the case of Saewitz v. Saewitz that to sustain a prima facie case for tortious…
The Fourth District Court of Appeals recently handed down a decision which may impose new requirements on probate plaintiffs who are challenging trusts. In Pasquale, Jr. v. Loving, et. al., the Court held that if a person is contesting a trust, the contestant must also contest the will if the…
Be careful of agreements that you sign with banks. This family is being held hostage by a bank that made the beneficiaries sign an agreement that required all 94 of them to agree prior to moving their money to another bank. The Tompkins family had been customers of Riggs Bank…
Often before the death, a spouse or someone else in control of assets attempts to rearrange the assets so that it will benefit them and in doing so it can interfere with the desires of the decedent. In these situations, the prospective beneficiaries who have been damaged have the right…
In Florida, a creditor may open a probate to reach assets of a decedent which were kept in a trust. The trustee of a decedent’s trust is responsible to file a notice of trust with the probate court. If you are unsuccessful in having the trust pay the debts directly,…
In Florida a Will must be in writing, signed by the signed by the testator and authenticated by two witnesses. Florida does not recognize holographic wills that are valid in another state if they do not meet the above requirements. Other than holographic wills, Florida will recognize a will that…
A recent Florida appellate court decision, 2010 WL 4226204, came to the conclusion that if a trust only has a piece of real property as its sole asset and the trust documents provide an intent that the trust give 5% of its annual principal disbursements to the beneficiary, no monies…