Author Archives: admin

What You can do about a Will depends on where You are Standing.

There is a story in the news about a woman in Rhode Island who was trying to overturn her aunts’ will, here: Records Show Woman Gave Legion Of Christ $60 Million Over 20 Years Essentially, the niece alleges that a … Continue reading

Posted in Probate, Will Contest, Wills | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Things to know about Florida Homeowners Insurance

If you have moved to, or are moving to Florida and buying a home, there are certain things you need to consider about homeowners insurance. Florida’s insurance commissioner discusses many of these issues here: Homeowners Insurance Overview Including mold coverage, … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Insurance, Real Estate, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Personal injury in Florida

I get inquiries from time to time about ‘personal injury’ cases. Those are cases where someone has been hurt in some sort of accident; the most common is a motor vehicle accident, but it can cover slip and falls, product … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Insurance, Personal Injury, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

What do people fight about in probate? Part 3

Last time we looked at fights over personal representatives. Today we’re looking at fights over wills; whether a will is valid; whether a will should be admitted to probate and whether a copy of a will should be probated. I … Continue reading

Posted in Probate, Will Contest, Wills | Leave a comment

What do people fight about in probate? Part 2

Last time we looked at fights over “Stuff”. Normally those fights are fairly trivial, the dollar value of the items is minimal. This time we’re looking at fights over who can be Personal Representative, which is what Florida calls Executors. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized, Wills | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What do people fight about in probate? Part 1

You hear stories of horrible probates; people fighting over probates and how those fights can damage families. In my experience, most probates run pretty smoothly; usually everyone accepts that the person died, that the split of the property is going … Continue reading

Posted in Wills | Tagged | Leave a comment

Thinking about funerals

Normally, I don’t encourage clients to address their funerals in wills, usually the person will be buried long before anyone necessarily even finds the will. And people sometimes change their mind; it would be a shame to have to redraft … Continue reading

Posted in Funerals | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Estate, Inheritance and Income Taxes in Florida

I get a lot of questions about estate and inheritance and income taxes for Florida estates. First, Florida has no separate estate tax; Florida did have what is commonly known as a “sponge” tax which is tied to the Federal … Continue reading

Posted in Death and Taxes, Estate Planning, Probate | Tagged | 43 Comments

The importance of having documents in place ahead of time.

Over the years, I’ve received a number of calls from spouses or children where their loved one is dying. And typically, they are in a bit of a panic; not necessarily because of the impending death, frequently they’re dealing with … Continue reading

Posted in Estate Planning, Health Care Surrogacies, Powers of Attorney | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Death should end feuds

I’m kind of stepping away from the legal advice today; and spending just a bit of time on a soapbox. Given that this is the holiday season, and people at least pay lip service to “goodwill towards men” at this … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment