Blog
Uncovering What Your Relative Left, and To Whom
When a loved one dies, what can you conclude from their bank or financial account statements? Not much. With increasing frequency, people are setting up bank accounts and investment accounts with a “designation of beneficiary” to transfer on death (TOD). Those stocks or funds do not go through probate. So if the next-of-kin or designated… read more
Taking Care of a Florida Home During Probate
Many estates involve the decedent’s home, which passes to their children or other relatives who live in different states. This often poses a challenge for the beneficiaries to now have an additional house to take care of. For this reason, we want to share some useful tips for the new owners. First, be sure the… read more
Title Insurance: What You Need to Be Protected
Title insurance is important coverage to consider when you purchase or inherit any real estate in Florida. Florida law is clear that claims against an estate are barred (prohibited) two years after the date of death. Florida law is also clear that, with limited exceptions, one cannot directly sue the insurance company of another. You… read more
Practical Tips For Personal Representatives of Florida Estates
Here are a few tips for someone who finds himself or herself suddenly faced with the overwhelming task of handling a probate estate in Florida: Have their mail forwarded to your house. You should go through each piece of mail to assist you in identifying all of the creditors and assets of the Florida Estate…. read more
Why Trustees Open a Florida Probate Administration
One of the big reasons one would consider setting up a Living Trust (technically called “inter vivos trust,” meaning a trust created while you are alive) is to avoid a probate administration after your death. By correctly titling all of your assets (except for personal effects, cash and other assets which are not “titled”) in… read more
Are Life Insurance Proceeds Assets in Probate?
Normally life insurance proceeds go directly to the name beneficiaries and are not probate assets. Unless payable to your own estate, death benefits payable under your life insurance policies are NOT estate assets, which means they do not go according to your Will and which sometimes means they go to the “wrong people.” Money paid… read more
Move Cars Out of Estate Quickly
We do not like cars or trucks in an estate. Under Florida law, the owner of a vehicle is normally liable for accidents caused by the car, and that liability is not limited to the car insurance limits. So an estate with $200,000 in stocks and bonds can see all of that disappear in the… read more
Don’t Wait to Sell that House
In ancient days, 25 years ago, many title insurance underwriters believed that an executor (personal representative) needed to get past the creditor period (3 months) before he or she could validly sell real property owned by a decedent. Those days are gone and for non-homestead property, all an executor needs is either an order approving… read more
When It Comes to Stocks, Stop the Loss
An executor or personal representative of an estate with significant stocks or other marketable securities should always consider entering a stop-loss order. That is a standing order with your broker to sell a security if the price drops to a certain level. A trailing stop-loss order is one that raises that sale price as the… read more
“You Get What You Pay For”
We are often asked, “Would I be OK with a Will from Legal Zoom or drafting one on my own from a software program?” The answer is complicated because (1) not everyone needs a Will, although most do; and (2) so much depends on what the person already knows about the laws of property and… read more