Recent Blog Posts
Florida Probate for Non-Floridians
Florida is the land of introduced species. Sure, it has the largest native population of crocodilians in the United States, but for every American alligator and American crocodile, you also find an array of newcomers, from reptiles such as the green iguana and Nile monitor lizard to species that strike an entirely different type… Read More »
What do you do when an estate doesn’t have a lot of assets?
Summary Administration Summary administration of an estate is mini probate. The petitioner, who may or may not be a beneficiary of the will, files a petition for summary administration, signed by all the beneficiaries of the will, and the court distributes the estate’s assets pursuant to the will. If the decedent does not have… Read More »
Revising Your Estate Plan After a Natural Disaster
Only the most conscientious people start working on their estate plans just because they realize that they are far enough into adulthood that their lack of estate planning will cause emotional and financial stress for the people they love. Everyone else procrastinates estate planning until something happens. That something could be a health scare,… Read More »
Naming Two Personal Representatives for Your Estate Is a Bad Idea
Your will tells the probate court who will inherit your property after you die, including which heirs will inherit specific assets or which ones will inherit which fraction of your money. Of course, the way wills work is that, by the time the court is ready to follow the instructions, you are no longer… Read More »
Probate Cases Where Legal Problems Are Part of the Defendant’s Legacy
The beneficiaries of a deceased person will inherit the decedent’s property, but in some cases, they also inherit the decedent’s problems. Probate is a difficult task for the personal representative when the decedent left two versions of a will and it is unclear which one is valid, or when the decedent died owing large… Read More »
Spousal Estrangement Makes Probate a Mess
In addition to being home to a vast array of terrifying reptile species, native and introduced, Florida is also the site of epic divorce battles. Real estate tycoon divorces seem to be the worst. Who can forget Burt and Lovey Handelsman, who spent 50 years in wedded bliss, buying up prime real estate in… Read More »
Maybe Revocable Trusts Are Not for Everyone
You know you are old if you have a bee in your bonnet about the 2012 film version of The Lorax. Just looking at the title character’s CGI animated fur makes you itch, and the book’s original rhymes get drawn out into over an hour of unrhymed, mostly pointless dialogue. The 1972 animated TV… Read More »
The Slayer Statute and Florida Probate Law
“The Slayer Statute” sounds like it should be the name of a big budget Hollywood movie from the pre-Netflix days, when people would spend Saturday nights in the movie theater with a huge, overpriced bucket of popcorn. Despite its catchy name, it is a real law that attempts to serve the aims of justice… Read More »
Adopted Children, Genetic Parents, and Florida Probate
The phrases “legal father” and “legal mother” occur frequently in documents submitted to and issued by the family courts. For example, if an unmarried man wants to exercise his right to court-ordered parenting time, he must establish legal paternity. Establishing legal paternity does not require DNA testing. Rather, a man can become a child’s… Read More »
Dade City Is at the Nexus of Florida’s Two Most Beautiful Coasts
The decision to retire to Florida is easy, but deciding where in Florida to retire is not so simple. Miami is often the first place people think of when they think of retiring in Florida. Miami is now beyond the budget of many and not the lifestyle you may envision.. Given that the Miami… Read More »
