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Life Estate interests as the name suggests are interests in real property measured by the lifetime of the grantee or recipient of the interest. Life estate interests can be created by deed, by conveyance through last will and testament or as we commonly see as the default distribution of homestead to a spouse who is… Continue reading LIFE ESTATE INTERESTS IN FLORIDA: THE RIGHTS OF LIFE TENANTS V. VESTED REMAINDERS
The Probate action is an action over property and the distribution of Property among heirs and is often referred to as in rem (over property) jurisdiction as opposed to “in personam” jurisdiction which is jurisdiction over a person. This distinction is relevant because one of the primary jobs of a Personal Representative will be to… Continue reading THE POWERS OF THE FLORIDA PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE PART 1: TO COLLECT ASSETS & FREEZE ASSETS
One common concept that gets liquidated frequently in Probate Administrations in Florida is the concept of Preference of Appointment. Meaning who gets to be in charge of the Estate. Florida Courts have a statute to guide litigants, 733.301 which provides: 733.301 Preference in appointment of personal representative.— (1) In granting letters of administration, the following order of… Continue reading FLORIDA PROBATE LAW UPDATE: OBJECTIONS TO THE APPOINTMENT OF A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE
The main ways to hold title to real estate in Florida are (1) Tenants in Common (2) Tenants by the Entireties and Joint Tenants with the Right of Survivorship. Joint Tenants with the Right of Survivorship is a manner of holding real estate where if one joint owners passes away the other acquires their interest… Continue reading JOINT TENANCY WITH THE RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP AS A WAY TO HOLD TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY IN FLORIDA
Being a Trustee over a Florida Trust is not always a fun job. The Trustee has some important responsibilities governed by (1) the Trust document (2) the Florida Trust Code. So in general what does a Florida Trust require? Adherence to and compliance with the Trust document. The Trustee is a fiduciary and as such… Continue reading FLORIDA TRUST ADMINISTRATION BASICS
A recurring challenge in Florida Probate administrations centers around the handling of homestead Property. As the homestead property is not an estate asset and thus not in the hands of the personal representative as a matter of law. In practice of course the homestead is a central part of the probate administration and the primary… Continue reading TAKING ACTION ON HOMESTEAD: FLORIDA’S PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE’S LIEN
Sometimes being a Personal Representative in a Florida probate proceeding is quite easy. These are the cases where the administration is uncontested, and the Client is simply executing the documents prepared by our office. In other instances the job can be quite difficult, we have had Clients forced to step in and wrap up businesses,… Continue reading PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE FEES IN A FLORIDA PROBATE – ESTABLISHING ENTITLEMENT AND OBJECTIONS
Unfortunately, many Floridians continue to fall victim to exploitation and abuse. The Florida legislature has provided some tools to aid families to fight elder abuse. One of those tools is the “Death Bed” Marriage Statute. Fla. Stat. 732.805 provides generally that a Florida marriage can be invalidated if it was procured by fraud, duress, or… Continue reading OVERTURNING A DEATH BED MARRIAGE IN FLORIDA
We often see people come in after a loved one has died with a will from ten, fifteen, or even twenty years ago. These wills run the risk of being stale or obsolete we call those a Lapsed Devise or similarly a Void Devise, both are treated the same in Florida law. A Lapsed Devise… Continue reading What Happens In Florida If The Person You Leave Your Things To In Your Will Dies?
A common problem arises in Probate cases where property is transferred to one or more family members and there is a general disagreement regarding what do with the home or property. Partition is a procedure attempting to reach an equitable solution when there are multiple owners of a property. We previously discussed Partition of real… Continue reading How To Force The Sale Of Real Estate In Florida: Part 2 – Heirs Property
