Category Archives: Probate
Probate Nightmares: Finding Out That The House You Just Inherited Is Encumbered By A Faustian Bargain
Determining how your descendants should inherit a real estate property you own is a big decision. You want to be fair to everyone and avoid inciting sibling feuds or aggravating existing ones. You also don’t want the house to be a financial burden on your family. If you think that your children are just… Read More »
What Happens To The Decedent’s Business Interests During Probate?
You might have heard the estate planning maxim that the law categorizes all assets that are not real estate or accounts full of money as personal property, meaning that the probate court does not see any difference between the socks in the decedent’s sock drawer, on the one hand, and valuable paintings, on the… Read More »
Preparing An Estate Inventory For Probate
You love your family, but you would not want to drop everything and prepare a family member’s tax returns, without that family member’s help, during an already stressful time in your life, when it wasn’t even tax season. That is the position that people who die without an estate plan put their family members… Read More »
Breach Of Fiduciary Duty And Florida Estate Law
Unless you operate a family business, then you usually keep work and family separate. You might have conflicts with family members about matters such as splitting the cost of family gatherings or about the wealthiest member of a family contributing to the educational expenses or other means of support for members of the younger… Read More »
You Don’t Have To Be Dirt Poor To Qualify For Summary Administration
Conventional wisdom about estate planning holds that everyone who is able to avoid probate should do so, and that the easiest ways to accomplish this are by being very rich or very poor. If the former applies, then your estate still goes through the motions of probate, while most of your assets pass to… Read More »
Removing A Personal Representative From An Estate In Probate Court
Except under extraordinary circumstances, the probate court must follow the instructions in a deceased person’s will. The estate must pay taxes and settle with creditors before the beneficiaries can receive the assets designated for them in the will, but the testator (the author of the will) has the final say regarding who should act… Read More »
Beware Of Nuncupative Wills
Florida has long been a popular destination for retirees from other states and other countries to spend their final years, so it is unsurprising that Florida’s probate courts have admitted many wills that were issued elsewhere. Florida law adopts the attitude that, if a will meets the legal requirements of the state or country… Read More »
The Secrets You Keep From Your Family Can Come Out During Probate
There is already enough conflict and ugliness in the world; imagine how much there would be if your siblings, children, or spouse knew everything there was to know about you. In an age where everyone broadcasts everyone else’s business on the Internet, it is harder to take secrets with you to the grave. Meanwhile,… Read More »
You Have The Right To Leave Your Children Unequal Shares Of Your Estate
Personal finance advice columnists have strong opinions about whether you should divide your estate equally among your children. Some say that playing favorites in your will is a sure way to create rifts in your family that will make it very difficult for your grandchildren to enjoy the same kind of close relationship with… Read More »
What To Do If You Don’t Know Whether Your Recently Deceased Family Member Wrote A Will
The probate process, in which the court accounts for a recently deceased person’s assets, gives creditors a chance to seek payment of debts from the deceased person’s estate, files a tax return on behalf of the estate, and distributes the deceased person’s assets to the deceased person’s heirs, depends on whether the decedent wrote… Read More »