Author Archives: Jay Butchko
What Property Is Exempt From Creditor Claims In A Probate Estate?
Debts do not necessarily die with the debtor. A decedent’s creditors may file a claim for payment against their probate estate. The estate is then normally required to pay such creditors to the extent possible from the estate’s assets after other, higher-priority expenses are paid. But not all probate assets are subject to creditor… Read More »
Can Your Health Care Surrogate Demand Your Doctors Provide Treatment Against Their Own Medical Judgment?
In 1990, the Florida Supreme Court issued a decision, In re Guardianship of Browning, which established the constitutional right of privacy extended to a person’s decision to “refuse medical treatment regardless of his or medical condition.” The Browning court specifically held that the guardian of an adult patient who was legally incompetent and suffered… Read More »
What Happens If A Business Owner Dies And Leaves A Warehouse Full Of Unsold Inventory?
Many Florida residents dream of owning and running their own business. But what these people often fail to consider is the need for business succession planning. That is, what will happen to their business if they become incapacitated or die unexpectedly? If a business is structured as a corporation, then as far as the… Read More »
How Do You Fund A Florida Revocable Living Trust?
The process of creating a revocable living trust begins with signing a trust instrument, i.e., a document spelling out the terms and conditions of the trust, including who will serve as trustee and who are the trust’s beneficiaries. But this is just the first step. Indeed, the trust instrument is little more than a… Read More »
What Is An Estate’s Responsibility For A Decedent’s Business Assets?
A person’s death may not just leave personal assets for their estate to deal with, but also business assets. How the law deals with this latter class of assets depends largely on how the business itself was structured during the deceased owner’s lifetime. In some cases, the personal representative of the probate estate will… Read More »
Why You Need To Pay Attention When Changing The Beneficiaries Of Your Life Insurance Policy
Even if you have a will and a living trust, there may still be some assets that fall outside of these estate planning documents. For example, a life insurance policy is often governed by separate laws with respect to beneficiary designations. This means that even if you change the beneficiaries in your will or… Read More »
How Creditor Claims Can Lead To Years Of Probate Litigation
Although the phrase “probate litigation” is most commonly associated with legal proceedings where someone contests a will or there is a fight among the potential beneficiaries of an estate, another common source of such legal disputes is creditor claims. After all, when a person dies, they often owe other people money. If the probate… Read More »
Can A Deceased Beneficiary Still Inherit Under A Will?
A common question that comes up in probate administration is, “What happens to the share of a beneficiary who dies before the estate is administered?” To give a hypothetical example, say George died on February 1. His will left half of his estate to one of his children, Sarah, but she died in an… Read More »
Dealing With “Digital Assets” As Part Of Your Estate Planning
More and more, our personal lives revolve around our smartphone. Whether you use an Apple or Android device, these phones often contain our entire personal financial, medical, and social media histories. So what happens to all of that information after the user dies? How to deal with “digital assets” has become an issue of… Read More »
Do You Need A Payable On Death (POD) Bank Account As Part Of Your Estate Plan?
When setting up a bank account, you have the option of choosing beneficiaries to whom the remaining funds will automatically transfer in the event of your death. This is known as a “payable on death” (POD) bank account. Many people open payable on death bank accounts as part of their estate plan because the… Read More »