Homestead

December 2, 2008

Are Fees Charged on the Value of a Home in a Florida Probate?

In Florida, the question of whether an attorney should charge fees based on the value of the home or land is a common one. The answer to this question depends on whether the Home is considered a homestead. A Florida Homestead is a constitutionally protected piece of property which is exempt from being counted as an asset of the decedent in a Florida Probate. If the home is a Florida Homestead, the fees for transferring the property to the decedents must be reasonable and unless the home a very small value it would be unreasonable to charge 3% of the homes value to transfer the property. In all Florida probate cases a lawyers fees must be reasonable. When a home is considered a homestead, the lawyer must file a petition to determine homestead, publish notice to the creditors, and if there are no objections, file a PR deed to transfer the property.

If you are a creditor or a beneficiary of a Florida Probate and think that the fees in the Probate are unreasonable Contact us and we can review the fees and the court file to determine if you are being treated reasonably. When fees are higher than necessary, we can often resolve the dispute with a letter and a few conversations. Sometimes the issues are more complex and it becomes necessary to attend a hearing in the probate court to present evidence or dispute the fees. When this happens a Judge will make the determination of whether the PR fees and the Legal fees are reasonable.

Update:

September 9, 2008

Florida’s Anti lapse Statute: A devise to someone who predeceases the decendent.

by David M. Goldman

In Florida a devise in favor of a beneficiary who predeceases the testator will fail unless there is clear intent or in certain relationships.

Under Florida Statute 732.603 a devise to a grandparent or a descendant of a grandparent of the testator does not lapse but would be distributed per stirpes UNLESS the testator gift is conditioned on the person surviving the testator or the testator provides for a substituted or alternative beneficiary.

A similar result is achieved when the decedent dies intestate (without a will). We often see complicated property distributions when a parent dies and one or more of their children predeceased the parent. In these cases, it is not uncommon to see the Florida homestead or other real property owned by representatives of multiple generations.

August 14, 2008

Florida Defective Wills: Poor Drafting or Intentional?

by David M. Goldman

The Florida Constitution protects one’s Homestead from creditors. One provision that is often misunderstood is a devise of a homestead in a will when there are minor children in the family. In some cases two people are getting married and one has a home and a minor child. The spouse may draft a will that states that the home goes to the future husband, but what happens if the spouse dies before the child reaches the age of 18?

Under the Florida Homestead Protections, the house does not pass as the will states, but the homestead goes to the minor child with a life estate going to the surviving spouse. Sometimes this appears to be an intentional mistake in a will to appease a future spouse but the clause does little to provide a fee simple ownership the the decedent’s homestead.

If you are getting married or your spouse had a home prior to your marriage that is now your Homestead, be careful that any attempted devise of the home when there are minor children will create a default condition establishing a life estate for the surviving spouse and remainder for the children even if one is a minor.

August 4, 2008

Xpress Seal Pro Caulk

by David M. Goldman

Xpress Seal Pro from As-Seen-On-TV- Products is a product I purchased to seal the caulk in my bathroom. The caulk in my shower needed replacing and I decided to purchase this after reading many review about this easy to use Professional caulking kit. I saw it on a TV commercial on one of those As Seen On TV Product commercials and decided to give it a try.

I have tried to apply caulk in the past and it was a mess. I found the key to getting a good caulk line was using their caulk removal took to remove all of the previous caulk so that I was starting with a clean surface. Once I got this done, it was relatively easy to apply the silicone caulk and the use the took to make a nice looking caulk bead. It took a little practice before I got the technique down and I found that it was better when I make long consistent beads instead of little short lines. Some of the lines look as good a if a professional had done the work.

With the hurricanes that we have been having lately, it might be a good idea to re-seal windows or previous problem areas to preserve values. I normally do not talk about products on this website but since so many of my clients deal with maintaining property values for their families and loved ones I thought it appropriate. If you need to seal a leak you might try the Xpress Seal pro Caulking Kit as seen on TV.

June 27, 2008

Deeds Designating Grantee as a Trustee Sufficient to Pass Title to Trust

by David M. Goldman

The Florida Supreme court has ruled affirmatively on the question presented to it.

Whether, under Florida Statutes section 689.07(1) as it existed before

its 2004 amendment, this Deed–which is a recorded real estate

June 7, 2008

Florida Lady Bird Deed Forms

by David M. Goldman

Where can I get a Form for Florida Lady Bird Deed is a question that I am often asked. Florida Lady Bird Deeds are generally not available on the Internet because not many Florida Lawyers even know what they are. They are also far more complex than a regular deed.

I have seen several cases where clients used Ladybird deed that were not acceptable to Title insurance companies and the families had to open probate cases to clear the title on the property after the death of the grantor.

Because of this when we created our deeds we went to many title companies to get their feedback and modified our deed and they way they are filed to be in compliance with the title companies requirements.

April 3, 2008

Do it yourself Estate Planning: Bad News Part 9

by David M. Goldman

Invalid transfer of Florida Homestead with do it yourself deed leads to unintended consequences!

Man wants his second wife to have a life estate in his homestead after his death with the remainder to go to his children and not his second wife’s children.

His mistake, he used a preprinted deed and filled it out wrong. The court found that he did validly convey a life estate to his wife, but did not convey the remainder of the property to his daughter because it must have been signed by both spouses.

March 30, 2008

Florida Upholds Homestead Against Legal Fees

by David M. Goldman

Chames v. Demavo, 32 Fla. L. Weekly S820 CR. Sup. Ct. December 20, 2007

An attorney owed fees from his clients under a retainer agreement attempted to enforce a lien against the homestead of the clients. The retainer agreement had expressly waived the parties’ constitutional homestead protection against claims of creditors.

Asking the Court to recede from prior Florida precedent in Carter and Sherbill, the appellant argued the 1995 constitutional amendment removing “head of family” changed the purpose of the creditor protection, that the trend in other states was to permit waivers, and permitting the waiver was consistent with other precedent allowing waivers.

March 29, 2008

Can Co-op be a Homestead in Florida?

by David M. Goldman

Phillips v. Hirshon, 963 So. 2d 227 (Fla. 2007).
The supreme court agreed to hear a case which will determine if Florida’s revisions to the homestead laws allow for a cooperative apartment to be considered homestead property for descent purposes. We should have an answer on this question by the end of April.

If you own a property and are concerned about its status as a Florida Homestead please Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss your circumstances.

March 14, 2008

Florida Wills

by David M. Goldman

How can you tell if a Will has been altered?

Most of the time you cannot tell by simply looking at the document. Often these documents are “tampered with” behind the scenes: friends, relatives, heirs or neighbors pressure, threaten or trick someone into changing, modifying or preparing a new Last Will and Testament or Codicil (an amendment to the Will). It takes an experienced lawyer to discover the facts and circumstances behind the preparation and execution (signing) of a Will.

Can a child be cut out of a Will?