Probate

May 16, 2011

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Deed to Deed

If your last parent in Florida has passed away leaving their Jacksonville home, how do you proceed if you want to sell the house? A Florida deed transfers title to real property from one person(s) to another. Generally before anyone will purchase a property, they will require clear title to the real property.

Whether your surviving parent died with a Florida Will or without a Will (intestate), if you want to sell the home, title to the property will need to be transferred to your parents to the named beneficiary or heir. A Florida probate proceeding is necessary to transfer title to the real property in such a way as to establish clear title. Florida statutes require that a Jacksonville Probate Lawyer or a Florida Probate Lawyer is used to represent the Personal Representative or Estate when there is more than one heir in an estate.

April 3, 2011

We Were Named One Of The Top 25 Estate Probate and Elder Law Blogs of 2011

by David M. Goldman

estate-probate-elderlaw-winner-220x180.JPG-550x0.jpg I would like to thank everyone who voted for us. We were selected on of the Top 25 Estate Planning Blogs of 2011.

Now LesixNexis is selecting the top estate planning blog of the year and you still have the opportunity to vote for us one last time. Even if you did not vote in the previous selection you can still vote.

Step 1: You will need to be registered in order to vote. If you haven’t previously registered, follow this link to create a new registration or use your sign in credentials from your favorite social media site. Registration is free and does not result in sales contacts. Once you are logged in, you can then vote by checking the box next to your favorite estate, probate and elder law blog then submitting the results.

March 18, 2011

Who Gets Your Last Paycheck?

by David M. Goldman

Florida Statute 222.15 – Wages or unemployment compensation payments due deceased employee may be paid spouse or certain relatives.

(1) It is lawful for any employer, in case of the death of an employee, to pay to the wife or husband, and in case there is no wife or husband, then to the child or children, provided the child or children are over the age of 18 years, and in case there is no child or children, then to the father or mother, any wages or travel expenses that may be due such employee at the time of his or her death.

(2) It is also lawful for the Agency for Workforce Innovation, in case of death of any unemployed individual, to pay to those persons referred to in subsection (1) any unemployment compensation payments that may be due to the individual at the time of his or her death.

March 18, 2011

A Cautionary Tale, will your Will be Admitted to Probate?

by Patricia Davis

[Florida Probate: The court supervised process of gathering the deceased person’s assets and distributing them to their beneficiaries.]

You know the importance of having your last will and testament prepared. -You’ve heard those ads telling you to prepare your will yourself.-You think that having an attorney prepare your will is too expensive.

You should know this. Not having a Jacksonville Attorney either prepare your will or review what you have prepared from those “do your will yourself” kits will cost you and your family in the end.

March 13, 2011

To Be Florida Homestead or not To Be Florida Homestead

by Patricia Davis

Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach homeowners may know that the Florida Homestead Protection mandated by the Florida Constitution, is afforded to many residents.

This homestead protection protects one’s home from the claims of most creditors. Further, if one dies leaving minor children, then the home cannot be devised (giving property away in one’s will) or sold.

As with everything in the law, the homestead protection is not black or white. There are many interpretations based on a case to case basis. In a recent Florida case, the court held that a house owned by a decedent and his mother as joint tenants with right of survivorship was not homestead property for purposes of the administration of decedent’s estate.

February 25, 2011

“Do it yourself” Wills: Prepare According to Florida Law

by Patricia Davis

Preparing your will without the assistance of a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer may cost your family future trouble and costs. Your Will must be clearly worded, otherwise, your intentions may be disputed by family members.

A Florida Will contest may result in a lengthy and expensive court battle, which is exactly what you did not intend for your surviving family. A Last Will and Testament must meet the requirements of the Florida Statutes. If your Florida Will is not signed and witnessed in the proper fashion, a Probate Judge may refuse to admit your will to Probate, resulting in your property being distributed as if you had no Will at all.

To avoid any challenge to your Florida Will, it is advisable that you consult with a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer . An Attorney will prepare your Last Will and Testament according to your directions and supervise the execution (signing) of your Will to ensure that it is witnessed according to Florida Law.

February 22, 2011

Estate Tax, Inheritance Tax, What about Both?

by David M. Goldman

According to a Market Watch article by Bill Bischoff, on the Worst Places to Die, New Jersey Tops the list with a combined effective estate and inheritance tax rate of 54.1 %.

Estate tax is bad enough but several states have an inheritance tax. Yes you could actually leave money to a family member and they could be charged a percentage of your assets by the state they live in. Florida residents are not subject to either a state inheritance tax or a state estate tax.

While 16 states have a state estate tax only 6 have inheritance taxes and two states have both (New Jersey and Maryland)

February 16, 2011

A Florida House Divided

by Patricia Davis

As a Jacksonville Beach Probate Attorney, I often hear the disheartening accounts of people who own or buy Florida property together and then have a falling out. If co-owners (who are not married) can’t agree to live together or how to handle the property, Florida law allows for a partition action.

A partition action requests that the court divide the property amongst the owners. However, in the case where property cannot be divided, the court may order that the property be sold and the proceeds divided and distributed among the owners.

According to the Florida Partition Statute, the payment of attorney fees are to be paid to the plaintiff’s or defendant’s attorneys or to each of them proportionate with their services rendered and of benefit to the partition of the property.

February 8, 2011

Half-siblings beware, you may have to share your Inheritance

by Patricia Davis

An Orange Park daughter loses her mother and only then realizes that the deed to the family home was in her father’s name, alone. Her father had children from a previous marriage, her father died many years ago, and her father did not leave a Will. According to the Florida Intestate Succession law if one dies without a will, property passes in a specific manner. Once the mother passed away, the home would then pass to the father’s children, all of them.

Whether you have a relationship with your half-siblings and whether you know where they are currently living, may make a difference in how easy or complicated your efforts to obtain ownership of the family home will be. If you need advice, or are wondering what you should expect in your efforts to obtain title to the home, speaking with experienced Orange Park probate attorneys will benefit you.

January 31, 2011

No Florida WIll Contest Can Fix This Problem.

by David M. Goldman

When you have a blended family or children from different marriages it is very important to have estate planning that deals with the various possibilities. All to often the standard will or generic documents can produce undesired results.

Take for example a Husband and Wife who each have children from a prior marriage. Husband and wife each want to support each other in the even they pre-decease each other. The problem is created when the Husband dies first, and leaves everything to the wife. Now the wife dies and leave everything to her children, essentially disinheriting the husband’s children.

There are several ways a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer can address these issues and achieve the desired results of the husband and wife.