Florida is famous for its unique attributes. The state is known for having plenty of sunshine, ocean breezes and its “snowbirds”, or its senior citizen residents who return to Florida every winter to take advantage of all the Sunshine State has to offer. Florida has retained the highest percentage of…
Miami-Dade, Broward and West Palm Beach counties are home to some of the finest art in the country. Alongside the many fine art galleries located in South Florida there are private art collectors and individuals who own valuable and sometimes extensive collections. These collections make up part of their estate…
Florida Statute 731.103(3) creates a presumption of death if a person is missing for five years. Once this happens, the person’s estate can be probated and their assets can be distributed. However one does not always have to wait for five years to pass. With enough circumstantial evidence, a person…
For same sex couples, having effective estate planning documents and correctly titled property is very important. Without documents expressing the wishes of the couple, there may be undesirable results in the event of a death or serious illness of a partner. If the couple’s wills are not executed properly, upon…
The situation may arise where a person who had a will prepared dies and then the will cannot be found. If a family member dies and you cannot find their will to admit to probate, the court will presume that your relative intend to destroy the will and that your…
Many questions may arise when a person passes away and the person’s professional association holds some assets. The professional association may be a corporation, which is a separate legal entity from the person. In this case the personal representative will not have automatic entitlement to the business assets. This remains…
Some residents of Miami-Dade or Broward County may currently serve as guardian for a ward or may become an appointed guardian in the future. A ward means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. A person may need a guardian because they become incapacitated or because they are…
A trustee has many important duties. They have obligations to beneficiaries and to the trust. Their duties may be altered by the trust, by the creator of the trust or even by the beneficiaries. A trustee should be chosen carefully to ensure they can fulfill the purposes of the trust.…
What if an accident or illness made it impossible to manage your financial affairs? Would your loved ones have to go to the Dade County or Broward County courthouse to get the authority to handle your affairs? No one likes to consider such grim possibilities, but the truth is that…
The living will is an important estate planning tool. Because this form of “will” is used while an individual is still alive (but no longer able to make decisions) it is dubbed the “living will.” The purpose of a living will is to allow you to make decisions about life…