Probate

June 6, 2012

Removing a Personal Representative in a Florida Probate

In Florida the personal representative is appointed by a court and does not become a personal representative until appointed even if they are named as the personal representative in a decedent’s Will. The court will look first to any Will that specifies the priority of a Florida personal representative. If there is no Will, the court will look first to a surviving spouse and then a person selected by a majority of the heirs.

It is difficult but not impossible to remove a personal representative who has been appointed by the court unless there has been a failure to provide proper notice of the probate proceeding.

Removing A Florida Personal Representative

June 5, 2012

Planning for Pets who are Part of Your Family: Can a Pet Trust help?

by David M. Goldman

Is your pet a member of your family? If so, you will want to read this article. Do you know what would happen to your pet if something happened to you? Many pet owners have not considered the fate of their pet. After all your pet state laws have not created provisions for you pets to the same extent as they have for your children. Pets in Florida and most states are considered personal property and are dealt with as such.

If you become disabled or die, who will take care of your pets, who will pay for their food, shelter, doctor bills? Who will receive them? Do you want the same person who receives your other personal property to get your pet?

These are some of the issues that pet owners should deal with to create plans for the case where your pet survives you and your spouse.

June 4, 2012

Does Ex-Wife Have Rights to Personal Property?

by David M. Goldman

If you die without a will in Florida, your ex-wife has no rights to any of your personal property unless you have her named a beneficiary in a will or trust or your personal accounts have her listed as a joint account holder or a beneficiary on an account.

Generally most people do not intend to leave their ex-spouse money or property. If you do want to, then its important to make sure you document will be honored. If you will or trust was created before the divorce, then the ex-spouse will be treated as predeceasing you.

If someone who takes personal property of a decedent, they can be subject to criminal charges. It may be necessary to open a Florida Probate to pursue recover of the items that belong to the estate and then distribute them to the correct beneficiaries.

May 24, 2012

Tort and Probate Law: Tortious Interference and Expected Inheritance

by David M. Goldman

The recent decision of a Florida appellate court has shed some light on a little discussed aspect of tort and probate law in the state of Florida. The Third District Court of Appeals ruled in the case of Saewitz v. Saewitz that to sustain a prima facie case for tortious interference with expected inheritance the plaintiff must prove damages.

In this case, two daughters, Mercedes and Brooke Saewitz claimed that while their father was dying their step-mother Lynn Saewitz manipulated their father and tortuously interfered with their inheritance. At trial, the case was dismissed because the trial judge held that the daughters did not prove the damage element required to make a prima facie case of tortious interference. The elements of the cause of action are as follows:

(1) expectancy by the plaintiff to receive an inheritance;

May 10, 2012

Adding Kids To Deeds Can Place Florida Homestead in Jeopardy to Creditors

by David M. Goldman

Joseph Percope has written an article The Impact of Co-ownership on Florida Homestead in the Florida Bar Journal that discusses the tree kinds of homesteads defined in a 1997 Florida Supreme Court case: The tax exemption; The Protection from Creditors; and The restrictions on alienation of homestead property in Florida.

While most are primarily concerned with their tax breaks, as a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer we often deal with the second two more often in our planning. We see families attempting to avoid probate by adding kids on to deeds all the time. We also see parents who own part of their children’s homes. The problem begins when in either of these situations one or more of the owners does not live in the home. The home or at the ownership of the person not living in the home is subject to the claims of their creditors.

When no ownership percentage is specified, Florida will apply equal percentages of ownership to each person named on the deed. If a single person adds their child onto their deed as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, 50 percent of the equity in the home will be exposed to the creditors of the child who is not living in the home.

May 8, 2012

Can a Florida Will Be Changed After Death?

by David M. Goldman

Historically a Florida Will could not be changed and had to be strictly complied with by in a Florida Probate.

A recent change to Florida Probate allows for the court to step in and change the terms of a person’s will when there is no question about what the terms when there is clear evidence that what the testator intended.

Anyone can ask a court to change the terms of a Florida Will when there is clear and convincing evidence that a mistake of fac or mistake of law caused the will to reflect something other than the testator’s true intent.

April 30, 2012

Can Paternity Be established in a Florida probate?

by David M. Goldman

There are very limited opportunities to establish paternity after the death of a parent but it is possible to do so as long as the mother was not married at the time the child was born and no paternity has been previously established.

According the Florida Department of Heath, if a birth record contains an error it may be possible to correct the record depending on the type of correct and the age of resistant, documentary evidence may be required to support the correction.

Once the father has died it is still possible to establish paternity by one of the following

(a) The natural parents participated in a marriage ceremony before or after the birth of the person born out-of-wedlock, even though the attempted marriage is void.

April 11, 2012

Slayer Statute and Asset Protection in Probate

by David M. Goldman

The Florida Slayer Statute bars a murderer from profiting off the victim’s assets. The victim’s assets which are subject to a Florida Probate pass as if the murderer had predeceased the victim and other jointly held assets are severed so that the victim and murder each owned 50%.

One problem with the slayer statute is that the effect of the statute does not take place until there is either a criminal or civil conviction. It is possible to make changes to the ownership of the assets prior to a court determination that the slayer statute applies. While there are some safeguards in place to prevent those with knowledge from profiting from these types of transfers, there appears to be certain situations where one could protect the assets prior to such a determination. I have not seen any case-law where this has been challenged and do not know what the outcome would be but like with many asset protection techniques, it can put someone in a better position to negotiate if there are any funds or asset left.

One recent case in South Florida involved a beneficiary of a trust. This individual adopted his girlfriend so that she would be a legal beneficiary of the trust. While it does not appear that these asset would have been subject to a slayer statute claim, it is the type of planning that we are referring to and can create the desired results through creative planning.

April 10, 2012

Inheriting Debt from a Probate

by David M. Goldman

We often get asked questions as a Ponte Vedra Beach Probate Lawyer about inheriting debt. Just as you can inherit property and other assets from a Florida Estate, it is possible to inherit the debt that is associated with the property.

When the debt associated with an asset is worth more than the asset itself, one must decide whether they want the asset or not. Just because you inherit something does not automatically mean you are financially responsible for the debt which is associate with the property.

In Ponte Vedra Beach and around Florida we are finding that homes often are worth less than the amount of debt remaining on the mortgage. Just because you inherit the property does not make you responsible for the debt. You may abandon the property in the Florida Probate or decide not to even probate the property or estate until the item which are upside down are dealt with in legal proceedings such as a Florida Foreclosure Case.

March 29, 2012

How Many Death certificates Do I Need? What are the Differences?

by David M. Goldman

The number of death certificates you will need will vary greatly depending on the amount and number of assets that the person had at the time of death. Most insurance companies, banks, & many creditors will request a death certificate. In addition, you will need a death certificate (short form – one without the cause of death) to open a probate case in Florida. While insurance companies will typically ask for a long version, most other creditors and institutions are ok with a short version. The Probate court will not accept a short version. For this reason it is a good idea to get 3-5 long versions and 5-10 short versions. You can always get more and many companies only need to see a copy of a death certificate.