Complex Legal Challenges
As more people are living together while not married, they are increasingly buying real estate in joint names. One way this is done is to hold the property as "Tenants in Common"--sometimes abbreviated TIC. One example of how title is held in that case would be as...
In estate planning, when a person signs a Living Trust or a Revocable Trust (they're the same thing), they are identified using one of several different terms. These include "Settlor", "Grantor", or "Trustor." In Trust lingo, they all mean the same thing and they...
Sadly, as an estate attorney I often see families where a person is in their final days before death and the squabbling has already begun. Often these are families where no one expected there to be bickering over the dying person's estate--and yet it happens all too...
With today's technology, consumers have plenty of resources to turn to when they think about their estate planning needs. On the internet and through self-help software or forms, many documents can prepared--everything from a Power of Attorney to a Living Trust or...
Often estate attorneys will include a simultaneous death provision in a Will or Trust. These provisions are intended to address what happens if two persons die such that it cannot be determined who died first. For example, what if a mother has a provision in her Will...
As discussed in a recent blog entry, Florida has a "statute of frauds" which states that certain types of contracts must be in writing. These include contracts which involve: 1. an agreement to guarantee another person's debt; 2. an agreement for the sale of real...
When an attorney is asked whether an oral contract in Florida is enforceable, the correct answer is that some, but not all, contracts must be in writing. In other words, some oral contracts are enforceable, others are not. Like many states, Florida has a "statute of...
When an attorney is asked whether an oral contract in Florida is enforceable, the correct answer is that some, but not all, contracts must be in writing. In other words, some oral contracts are enforceable, others are not. Like many states, Florida has a "statute of...
A trustee may implement a process known as "decanting" whereby the trust assets of an original trust may be transferred into a new trust. This can be done even if the original trust has become irrevocable. Florida Statutes, Section 736.04117, entitled "Trustee's Power...
When preparing a Last Will and Testament in Florida, one of the decisions you must make is who to name as Personal Representative (also sometimes called the Executor). The Personal Representative is the person in charge of the probate estate. So who can serve as...