Articles Posted in Gay and Lesbian Estate Planning

St. Augustine has a prominent and growing gay population, and like numerous other gay Floridians, they are doing their part in executing legal papers to protect themselves, their same-sex partners, and children.

The LGBT community in Florida are not afforded any inherent rights when it comes to same-sex couples. Despite the number of years you have been with your St. Augustine gay or lesbian partner, if you die without a Florida Will they get nothing. If your home is not titled properly, it may not pass to the surviving spouse. If one partner has children not the biological children of another partner, that person may not be appointed guardian upon the death of the biological parent.

UNLESS . . .

Going to an attorney may be a difficult step for many. Being gay and unsure as to how you may be received by an attorney, may stop more than many.

Jacksonville Beach Residents, Atlantic Beach residents, erase your fear. Law Office of David M. Goldman PLLC has Estate Planning & Family Law Attorneys who focus on areas of law as it relates to the gay and lesbian community. Our beach doors are open.

Schedule a consult at our new beach office, located at 6th Avenue, Jacksonville Beach, with one of our Jacksonville Beach Estate Planning Attorneys who focuses on LGBT legal issues, to discuss the necessary legal documents in planning for your future, as well as the future of your domestic partner, children, and family.

St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Orange Park gay employees get ready. Orange County, Orlando Florida, will now offer gay employees the same benefits that heterosexual employees receive. Orange County Commissioners unanimously approved new benefits for gay employees to include life, health, dental, and bereavement benefits. These equal benefit changes will take effect in January 2012.

Other cities and counties in Florida that offer equality benefits for same-sex and domestic partners are: Gainesville, Kissimmee, Miami Beach, Tampa, Tallahassee, Broward County, Miami-Dade County, Monroe County and Palm Beach County.

All Jacksonville residents should remember Terri Schiavo, the St. Petersburg, Florida woman who made national news in 2005. Terri Schiavo had been in a coma for years and was diagnosed by doctors as being in a persistent vegetative state. The hotly debated issue between the husband and parents was whether Terri would want to be hooked up to life prolonging procedures.

The case centered on the fact that Terri did not have any Florida Advance Directives in place, in particular, no Living Will. Therefore, the debate centered on what her wishes would be. Seven years and numerous court cases later, (the Florida Legislature, the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court also became involved), a Florida Judge ordered the removal of Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube.

A Florida Living Will is a legal document which allows you to express Your Wishes as to the type of medical treatment and intervention that you do or do not want in the event that you suffer from a:

Do Gay and Lesbian individuals living in Jacksonville know that according to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are approximately 1,138 rights and benefits that the federal government provides to heterosexual couples that are NOT provided to same-sex couples (even if legally married in their state)?

Again, 1,138 benefits not afforded to Florida’s LGBT community. The number is staggering, and gives one pause to reflect (after the anger dissipates) as to what one can do for themselves and their same-sex partner or unmarried partner to protect them, when the government will not.

The answer is contact a Jacksonville Estate Planning Attorney who can discuss with you the various legal documents and tools that are available to provide you with the protection needed in times of illness, incapacity, and upon your death. Documents to be considered are Wills, Trusts, Durable Power of Attorney, domestic partnership agreements, preneed guardianship, and other documents related to providing and caring for minor children.

If you live in Jacksonville Florida and have a same-sex partner, written, legal documents are what is needed to not only provide for your life-partner, but to leave something to the loved ones in your life.

There are many gay and lesbian couples who do not have their own children, and very often they become very close with nieces and nephews. Providing for your partner and those dear to you takes planning . . . Florida Estate Planning. Florida law currently does not allow for same-sex partners to marry nor does it recognize any legal rights of life partners. Don’t let the state dictate who gets your hard earned money and accumulated “things” by your failure to make a plan.

Contact a Jacksonville Beach Estate Planning Attorney who is knowledgeable about the various strategies and documents that you can implement to ensure that your partner, your niece, her nephew, his niece, the cousins . . . will be taken care of and given what You want them to have upon your death or incapacity.

Florida’s Constitution severely restricts a judgment creditor’s ability to place a lien on, and force the sale of the homestead property. The purpose of homestead protection is to protect the family home from all but a few qualified creditors. To qualify as homestead property, the property must be owned by a real person, as opposed to a corporation, and must be the permanent residence of the owner
The St. Augustine homestead shall not be subject to devise (leaving your home to someone in your Will) if the owner is survived by spouse or minor child, except the homestead may be devised to the owner’s spouse if there be no minor child.

How is the Florida Homestead protection interpreted if a Florida same-sex or non-traditional couple owns a home together, and there are minor children. Good question . . . and complicated question. Each couple has a unique set of circumstances surrounding their relationship and the relationship each person has with the minor child. Be prepared for protection by contacting a St. Augustine Homestead Attorney to discuss your unique situation.

We have all experienced the disdain of families when they don’t like the partners we choose in life. When you are a Florida gay man or lesbian living with a same-sex partner, simply being with a same-sex partner is all that is needed to gain the wrath of one’s family.

If you are gay, with a disapproving family, it is time to consult with a St. Augustine Estate Planning Attorney. There are no inheritance rights provided in Florida for a same-sex couple. Therefore, it is important to consult with a legal professional as to the options for providing for your life-partner.

An effective legal document is a Revocable Living Trust. A revocable living trust allows you to manage your assets during your life and distribute the remaining assets per your wishes after your death. You maintain control over the trust and can modify or terminate the trust during your lifetime, as long as you are competent to do so.

If you are in a domestic partnership and live in a Florida home, or if you are in a same-sex relationship and are planning to buy a house with your partner, you may want to speak with a Jacksonville Estate Planning Attorney and discuss how your deed [the instrument transferring title to real property] should be titled.

Under Florida law, there are three types of ownership, joint tenants wth right of survivorship, tenants in common, and tenants by the entirety (which is solely for a husband and wife).

Tenants in common gives each individual an undivided interest in the entire property. As tenants in common, there is no right of survivorship. When one owner dies, his/her interest passes to the beneficiaries as named in his/her will or passes per the Florida Intestacy law.