Recent Blog Posts
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 »
4 Essential Tools To Plan For Incapacity In Florida
Incapacity refers to a person’s lack of physical and/or mental ability to make important decisions or perform activities of daily living. When a person becomes incapacitated, they can no longer manage their own affairs or maintain their own physical well-being. For this reason, they need someone to make healthcare and financial decisions on their… Read More »
Why Should I Avoid Intestate Succession (Dying Without A Will) In Florida?
Many Florida residents put off estate planning until it is too late. Of course, some people reason it does not matter anyway. After all, doesn’t Florida law decide what happens to a person’s property after they and do not leave a will? For many people, they figure it is just easier to let the… Read More »
What Exactly Is “Undue Influence,” And How Can I Avoid It When Making My Will?
The phrase “undue influence” is often used when discussing contested probate estates. The basic idea is that a will (or trust) should be considered invalid because some person engaged in improper action to procure the document in question. For example, let’s say Emily has three adult children. One of these children, Scott, cares for… Read More »
What Is An Insolvent Estate?
The normal process for administering a Florida probate estate involves gathering the assets owned by the deceased, paying any outstanding debts and expenses, and then distributing whatever is leftover to the beneficiaries of the estate. But what happens when the estate’s debts and expenses exceed its assets? In legal terms, this is known as… Read More »