Florida Estate Settlement is the process of gathering the assets of an estate and distributing them to the creditors and beneficiaries of the estate. In Florida this process is called a probate and generally requires the use of a Florida Probate Lawyer. Most probate lawyers charge a percentage of the…
Florida Statute 193.1556 requires that any changes regarding a person or entity owning real property under Florida Statute 193.1554 or Florida Statute 193.1555 are reported to the property appraiser. This may affect some Florida Enhanced Life Estate Deeds. Under Florida Statute 193.1554(5), If the property is nonhomestead residential property, there…
Florida probate cases often involve situations where the decedent has step-siblings or half blood siblings. Under Florida’s intestate statutes a step brother or sister would not receive any share of the decedent’s estate, but a half blood (one related by one parent) would receive 1/2 as much as a child…
Greedy Trustees can be a problem in Florida Probate Litigation and Florida Trust Litigation. Often the Trustee must be removed to resolve the issues. Adrian Thomas a Florida lawyer who deals with Florida Trust and Probate Litigation sent me an article where he discusses individual and corporate trustees. Often banks…
There is a new site which is putting together a list of Estate Planning and Probate professionals including lawyers for each state. You can find them at www.Estate-Attorneys.net.
If a person’s usual place of dwelling was in Florida then the original probate should be opened in Florida. We see cases where someone is in the process of or has just moved to Florida and the issue of where to open a probate becomes more complex. In those instances…
In Florida a devise in favor of a beneficiary who predeceases the testator will fail unless there is clear intent or in certain relationships. Under Florida Statute 732.603 a devise to a grandparent or a descendant of a grandparent of the testator does not lapse but would be distributed per…
In Florida, the surviving spouse is not liable for claims against the decedent. Under the common law a husband was responsible for the deceased wife’s expenses for necessities, last illness, and funeral expenses. At common law, a married woman’s legal identity merged with that of her husband, a condition known…
Although the state of Florida accepts wills created in other states when they were valid in the state where created, not all of the will may be valid. Recently, I ran across a will that named an accountant of the decedent as their Personal Representative. Several months later the decedent…
The new Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer Web site for the Law Office of David M. Goldman PLLC has gone live. This site will act as a hub for the Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog and the NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog. Its been a long month setting up the new…