Category Archives: Probate
Estate Administration
How many personal representatives do you need to manage your estate following death. You can select any number of persons to serve as personal representative, but with that selection comes potential problems and litigation. You are limited (under Florida law) to who can serve as your personal representative but not as to quantity. Florida… Read More »
Pre-Nuptial Agreements
What happens if prior to getting married, one of the future spouses comes to the other and requests a pre-nuptial agreement because they want to protect their personal assets that they have worked so hard to earn. This is especially daunting when the request for the pre-nuptial agreement is made the day of or… Read More »
Can I Avoid Estate Tax With an LLC?
I get calls from time to time about individuals who want to avoid estate taxes and how to do it. The short answer is if you do not have greater than a $10 million dollar estate (a single person) or $20 million dollar estate (a married person) you do not need to be concerned… Read More »
Tenants by Entireties and Expectation of Privacy
Privacy Expectations: Imagine being in your backyard and your neighbor places a camera on their roof top that is pointed into your yard and recording what you are doing. Would that annoy you to the point of bringing a law suit against your neighbor to enjoin them from having the camera operational? That was… Read More »
Beneficiary Rights
There continues to be confusion about what rights a beneficiary has when it comes to a trust and the information a beneficiary is entitled to receive concerning a trust. The first thing to understand is which beneficiary of a trust is entitled to receive information. The answer is every qualified beneficiary. The definition of… Read More »
Estate Litigation (Is It Worth It?)
Is litigation involving Estate Administration worth it? The short answer is probably not. This is especially true if one of the main characters needed to prove the source of litigation is deceased. The reason for this is that the main character who can state whether they consented to certain activities involving the distribution of… Read More »
Adopted Children and Right to Heirship
Do children born out of wedlock who are not adopted have standing to a decedent’s estate? The answer is possibly, provided that an individual follow certain rules and procedures to prove such person has standing before requesting the courts for relief. The primary statute that Florida law relies on in these situations is Section… Read More »
To Be Cremated or Buried, That Is the Question
William Shakespeare’s statement of “to be or not to be, that is the question” fits when it comes to determining what is to be done with a person’s remains at death. Such decisions can generate a great deal of fodder and questions among family relationships. Much of those decisions will depend on the interrelationships… Read More »
Who Pays the Attorney?
I recently had a discussion with a beneficiary who wanted to express their dissatisfaction that she and the other beneficiaries of their parent’s estate had to pay an attorney his or her fee for services rendered in administering the estate. The argument being made is that the personal representative is the person who hired… Read More »
Undue Influence Defense
Can a child or care giver be accused of unduly influencing the preparation of an elderly person’s Will, and if so, is there a defense he or she can rely on? The answer is a guarded yes. It’s called the dutiful child or person exception. I recently experienced this with two clients who came… Read More »
