One of the things that you may want to do when you start estate planning is to look into ways that you can avoid or minimize probate. Probate can be costly and time intensive, so it makes sense to want to eliminate the risk of your family having to go through it after...
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Deposit of a Decedent’s Separate Writing with the Clerk
In Florida estate planning, a commonly used and helpful tool is what is known as the “separate writing.” This is a document referred to in a Will or Trust which designates the recipients of certain items of tangible personal property (like jewelry, furniture,...
Joint tenancy and avoiding probate
Many individuals, especially married couples, possess assets such as real estate and securities as JWROS, or "joint tenants with right of survivorship." When it comes to estate planning, the JWROS arrangement dictates that if one spouse passes away, the other spouse...
What an executor needs to do when someone dies
If you get appointed as an executor in Florida, you will have many responsibilities once the individual dies. There’s a lot that you need to do in order to make sure that their estate gets handled properly. These are some of the things that an executor needs to take...
Appointing an estate administrator
When you prepare your last will and testament, you will normally name someone to serve as the executor of your estate. However, if you are a Florida resident and fail to do so, or if you die intestate, the probate court will appoint someone to administer your estate....
Intestate Estate: Which Children Will Inherit and Who Gets Left Out?
When a person dies without a Last Will and Testament in Florida, he or she is said to have died “intestate.” The decedent’s estate is then distributed according to Florida’s intestacy statutes as set forth in Sections 732.101-732.111, Fla. Stat. In simplest terms, the...
Probate and TOD accounts
The long waits and expenses associated with probate court often motivate Florida residents to seek methods for sidestepping the whole process. A transfer-on-death account presents one of those options for brokerage accounts holding stocks, bonds, and mutual fund...
Should you disclose joint assets?
The death of a family member or other loved one can be emotionally charged. In addition, Florida probate administration can be a complicated endeavor. There are situations in which a family member or other loved one might obtain full ownership to assets jointly owned...
Can a Probate Court Waive Posting of a Personal Representative Bond?
When a probate estate is opened in Florida, one of the requirements that the probate court can impose at the beginning is that a Personal Representative’s Bond must be posted. Often the requirement for posting the Bond must be satisfied before the Letters of...
What are non-probate assets?
Non-probate assets are properties that bypass the probate process in Florida, which includes retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s. Life insurance proceeds are also non-probate assets. All properties that are held in a living trust and funds in a payable-on-death...
