The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller, a case the Court has stated is “limited to the following question: Whether Washington, D.C.’s bans [on handguns, on having guns in operable condition in the home and on carrying guns within the home] violate the Second Amendment…
Indiana has joined the growing list of states in which we have a relationship with a lawyer who is familiar with the (NFA) National Firearms Act’s requirements relating to the formation of trusts to purchase Title II Firearms (sold by Class 3 SOT dealers). These include silencers, short barrel rifles,…
Ripoll v. Comprehensive Personal Care Services Inc., 963 So.2d 789 (Fla. 3rd DCA July 18, 2007) The Florida guardianship court has the inherent authority to monitor a guardianship and to take action it deems necessary to preserve the assets for the benefit of the beneficiaries, including the authority to issue…
The Florida Bar has created a Florida Probate Pamphlet to help individuals understand Florida Probate. It discusses the following information 1. WHAT IS PROBATE? 2. WHAT ARE PROBATE ASSETS? 3. WHY IS PROBATE NECESSARY? 4. WHAT IS A WILL? 5. WHAT HAPPENS TO PROBATE ASSETS IF THERE IS NO WILL?…
Miller v. Goodall, 958 So. 2d 952 (Fla. 4th DCA April 25, 2007) A daughter filed a petition to determine her mother’s incapacity and be appointed as guardian. The ward’s sister (daughter’s aunt) also filed a petition seeking to be appointed as plenary guardian. The court denied the sister’s petition…
Gurfinkel v. Marmor, 32 Fla. L. Weekly D2931 (Fla. 3rd DCA December 12, 2007) The decedent’s trust beneficiaries challenged a pre-death “amendment” executed by the decedent’s spouse as attorney in fact pursuant to a valid Durable Power of Attorney . The amendment “deleted” the trust’s primary asset stock in a…
Bryan v.Dethlefs, 959 So. 2d 314 (FIa. 3d DCA May 16, 2007) The decedent’s trust stated, “Upon my death, the then balance of principal and accumulated income remaining in the trust fund shall be distributed to my grandson, Robert R. Bizzell, if he is living at the time of distribution.”…
1. Anscher v. Lebenthal & Co., 963 So.2d 921 (Fla. 3rd DCA August 29, 2007) Spouse vs. Estate of spouse, co-trustee, & brokerage company The decedent’s surviving spouse bought an action in probate court against the decedent’s estate, the co-trustees of his trust, and his brokerage for failure to transfer…
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…