Monthly Archives: August 2019
CAN I DEVISE MY PROPERTY TO ANYONE?
I frequently have questions from clients who ask if they can devise their property to anyone? The short answer to that question is generally yes; but, with some thoughts about the consequences of doing so. Many times, this comes down to whether siblings, children or a spouse are still alive at the time of… Read More »
IT’S PROPERTY TAX SEASON – TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY A TAX CERTIFICATE
It’s property tax time and in some cases the payment of one’s property tax is not accomplished either because the tax is greater than the value of the property or the owners abandoned the property for personal reasons. When this happens, the County Tax Collector in Florida has the right to put the property… Read More »
WHEN DOES A DEED CONVEY PROPERTY TO ANOTHER
I am sometimes asked about the days before Christopher Columbus crossed the ocean blue, how did a buyer of land prove that he or she owned their purchased parcel. Historically, it was called delivery, but what did delivery really mean? During the 15 th century there was no recording or transfer of paper laying… Read More »
PARTITIONING PROPERTY
Lately, I’ve been involved in three partition actions, two of which involve the administration of an estate. A partition action can be an expensive alternative to selling real or personal property when the parties having ownership of such property can’t agree on how to handle it. There are two forms of partition, an estate… Read More »
PROBLEMS IN PARADISE – HOMESTEAD TITLED TO YOUR TRUST AND LAPSED DEVICES
Recently, I’ve been involved in a case that has two major issues pertaining to real property and its distribution to the beneficiaries of a trust. One party says they are in control of a piece of property and that a specifically devised portion of property is also theirs. As you can imagine, the other… Read More »
Buyer Beware – Residential Versus Commercial Property
It is well known that a buyer of Commercial Property is on notice to investigate the property being purchased for any and all defects. That does not mean that if the Seller prevents the buyer from learning the facts of the property or creates an artifice or trick in such purchase that liability for… Read More »
DIVORCE AND BENEFICIARIES
Back in July, 2017, I wrote about Florida’s law terminating beneficiary designations when spouses obtain a divorce. The idea under Florida law was to cut the cord completely between spouses in subjects that may have been forgotten during the settlement process of their divorce. Those areas that usually get forgotten are life insurance contracts,… Read More »
Personal Property and Estate Administration
One of the hardest thing’s families have to do when a parent passes is the distribution of their tangible personal property. This is especially true when there is more than one sibling or individual involved when trying to determine who should get what items of Mom and Dad’s. Unless Mom or Dad have a… Read More »
WHY DOES PROBATE FEEL LIKE IT TAKES SO LONG?
The answer to the above is that it does not take any longer to perform the administration of an estate by means of probate or trust administration. The length of an estate administration is generally extended because of having to settle tax issues or family feuding. Under normal circumstances the time line to complete… Read More »
Notice of Administration
Many of my clients often ask why is it necessary to send out a Notice of Administration to everyone who may have an interest in an estate. The reason deals with something called due process. In two recent cases the lack of notice gave a person not named in a Will the right to… Read More »
