Never mix business and pleasure. Despite that adage, more often people transact business from home. But be careful! There is a delicate balance between income generation and residence with regard to homestead protections. After all, the homestead exemption applies only to the residence of the owner and the owner’s family. In the past, the general […]
Several years ago, a community of single-family homes was established in Southwest Florida. The community was small, arranged in a T-shaped pattern. A three-bedroom, two-bath home was one of the first houses built. Its back yard faced a pond, and the driveway opened onto the circle at the end of the street. A young couple purchased the home […]
A woman, diagnosed with end-stage cancer, sought to get her affairs in order. She owned her home, and she had children she wanted to provide for after her death. She decided to sell her home to provide some liquidity for her care while she was still living and to provide cash for her children after she passed. Toward […]
In general, your estate planning documents set forth how your assets will be distributed, whom you trust to act as your fiduciary, and what provisions you would like for your loved ones. In essence, they communicate to the world how you want decisions to be made when you are no longer able to make them […]
When people think of estate planning, they often think of the instrument that communicates their wishes after they pass away, like a Will or a Trust. But in addition to a Will and a Trust, an estate plan contains documents that help prevent and plan for a guardianship. What is guardianship and when is it […]
Our firm routinely (daily!) handles questions related to Florida probate administration, such as the following: What Is Florida Probate Administration? Probate Administration is the Court-supervised process of resolving a decedent’s financial affairs. Is Florida Probate Administration Always Required? Not always. For many decedents, there is no requirement to open a probate estate. A common reason […]
There’s an old saying that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So, what really happens if you do not have any estate planning done? Statutory Defaults. One obvious benefit of estate planning is to exercise your right to decide various matters related to yourself and your estate, such as: Who will make […]
Ladybird deeds are popular devices for transferring real property. Homeowners may use a ladybird deed to designate a family member or other heir to inherit the property on the death of the homeowner. These deeds provide numerous other benefits as well. What Is a Ladybird Deed? Some thirty years ago, a law professor created a hypothetical […]
Recently, a client asked for help with a family member who held a significant estate, including real property, bank accounts, and other assets. Unfortunately, the family member was suffering from mental incapacity. As a result of the individual’s mental decline, fines were collecting on the real property because of county violations that were not being […]
Occasionally, we receive questions from clients about Florida’s escheat process. The primary concern clients have is that the State of Florida – rather than the clients’ children and other heirs – will receive the clients’ estate when the clients die. Happily, this is generally not the case. What is the Escheat Process? Simply put, the […]