104, 2020

Your Adult Children Need Planning Too!

With the Coronavirus affecting everyone’s lives and most schools and colleges closed, many of you may have adult children at home for the remainder of the school year.  This is [...]

2503, 2020

Estate Planning In The Time Of Coronavirus

Although we hope none of you reading this or any of your family members come down with COVID-19, I wanted to mention why having certain estate planning documents in place now [...]

1003, 2020

Second Marriage Estate Planning

Among probate lawyers, Florida is affectionately known as "probate heaven."  This is due to the large number of retirees in Florida and to Florida's complex and sometimes burdensome probate laws. [...]

2408, 2018

Revocation-On-Divorce Law Upheld By Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the United States recently held in Sveen v. Melin that the retroactive application of a revocation-upon-divorce statute to a contract signed before the statute’s enactment does [...]

2008, 2018

Estate Planning Under The 2017 Tax Act

The 2017 Tax Act, which was signed into law in December, made dramatic changes in the estate and gift tax exemption amounts. This post focuses specifically on what is does [...]

708, 2018

What Is A Personal Representative?

The personal representative is the person, bank or trust company appointed by the judge to be in charge of the administration of the decedent’s probate estate. In Florida, the term [...]

207, 2018

What Happens When A Person Dies With No Will?

A person who dies without a will is considered intestate. When a person dies intestate, the state will take the decedent’s assets if the decedent does not have any heirs. [...]

207, 2018

What Kind Of Property Can Be Disposed Of By Will?

Nearly all forms of property can be transferred through a will, however, certain property interests cannot. For example, property interests cannot transfer by will when they terminate upon the owner’s [...]

1406, 2018

Some Suggestions Concerning Wills

Marriage does not cancel a will in Florida, but a spouse acquired after the execution of your will may receive the same portion of your estate that he or she [...]

1106, 2018

Why Does The Personal Representative Need An Attorney?

A personal representative should always engage a qualified attorney to assist in the administration of the decedent’s probate estate. Many legal issues arise, even in the simplest probate estate administration, [...]

306, 2018

Who Pays Federal Income Tax On Trust Income?

In most instances, the revocable trust is ignored for federal income tax purposes during the grantor’s lifetime. The income and deductions are reported directly on your individual income tax return. [...]

106, 2018

Ten Reasons For Updating Your Estate Plan

Your plan hasn’t been updated to take into account the never-ending Estate Tax changes. Currently a single person can leave up to $5.6 million, and a married couple can leave [...]

2205, 2018

What Are Probate Assets?

Probate administration applies only to probate assets. Probate assets are those assets that were owned in the decedent’s sole name at death, or that were owned by the decedent and [...]

705, 2018

What Is A Trust?

A trust is a fiduciary relationship where a trustee is tasked with investing, protecting and managing property as well as the income that the property generates for a beneficiary. There [...]