Florida Probate Litigation Lawyer Blog

Do you know an elderly neighbor who is being abused? Get help.

July 25, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Elder Abuse and Undue Influence Awareness

Did you commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day? June 15, 2017 marked the twelfth annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, or WEAAD. Elder abuse, especially elder financial exploitation, has been called the crime of the 21st century. However, based on national surveys, elder abuse remains one of the least investigated and least addressed types of violence in national action plans. Experts predict that by the year 2025, the global population of those aged 60 years and older will more than double, from 542 million in 1995 to about 1.2 billion. As the global elderly population grows, so does the risk of financial abuse.

To raise awareness around the world and promote a better understanding of abuse of older adults, the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations launched WEAAD in 2006. WEAAD’s theme this year focused on preventing financial exploitation of the elderly in the context of human rights. The 2017 WEAAD also stressed the need for countries to take concrete action and develop strategies addressing financial exploitation for older adults.

Your estate and assets, make sure you know what actually counts for your beneficiaries under Florida laws

July 11, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Ademption: When devises are actually not part of the estate

Many unexpected things can happen in the period between the execution of a will and the death. For example, a decedent may devise the family house in Key West to her granddaughter. Several years after executing the will, the decedent gets into financial troubles and sells the Key West house. With other matters on her mind, the decedent never gets to adjust the will and passes away. Does the granddaughter still have a right to the house? Does she get money instead? Does she get anything at all?

The legal term describing a situation when a particular asset devised in the will is not part of the estate is ademption by extinction. The Florida statutes cover ademption in Section 732.606 for specific devises, and Section 732.605 for securities. Ademption is not uncommon. The decedent may have owned the asset and later sold it, or could have never owned it all. The situation would be different if the grandmother gave the granddaughter the Key West house as a gift before passing away. In that situation, the granddaughter’s devise would have been satisfied during the grandmother’s lifetime. Accordingly, this legal concept is called ademption by satisfaction and is not discussed in this blog post.

Taxes and gifting, estate planning makes a huge difference

June 26, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Estate Planning: Income Tax Strategies

Law firms have had to take a spike in income tax rates, a decline in the estate tax rate, and an increasing annual estate tax exemption threshold into account in devising estate planning strategies. There has been a decreasing gap between the income tax rates and estate tax rates: estate tax has moved to a maximum rate of 40% and a $5.45 million exclusion in 2016, from a 55% percent tax rate and a $675,000 exclusion in 2001; the maximum tax rate on ordinary income is 39.6%, up from a low of 35 percent in 2003; the maximum long-term capital gains tax rate increased to 20% from 15% in that same time frame. Furthermore, in 2013 an additional 3.8% surtax was added for net investment of individuals, estates, and trusts over statutory threshold amounts in certain cases. While these numbers might make you think that estate planning is only necessary for the super wealthy, financial planners advise that it is not. Taxes are just one consideration of estate planning: it is critical to plan for an orderly transfer of assets or for other circumstances such as incapacitation.

The capital gains tax rate – the long-term rate of 20% plus the 3.8% surtax – is significant because it affects the basis of assets. When a decedent dies, her beneficiaries get the benefit of a step-up in basis, which is appreciated assets held in the decedent’s estate are readjusted to fair market value at the time of inheritance. Through this mechanism, the beneficiary receives an income tax advantage because she is not liable for the capital gains tax on any appreciation that occurs up to the point she inherits the asset.

Pooch and kitty cat, life’s best friends! Estate planning for pets

June 8, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Pet Estate Planning

Leaving millions of dollars in a will for a pet seems ludicrous. For example, Leona Helmsley’s will made her pet, Trouble, the richest dog in the world—she bequeathed the Maltese twelve million dollars while leaving most of her family members with nothing. But pet estate planning is possible and in many cases practical. Similar to human beneficiary trusts, pet trusts may be drafted to provide legal instructions for the care of a dearly loved pet after its owner’s death. While pets are legally categorized as property, many people consider their pets companions—even family members. Without legal arrangements, a pet is often placed in a shelter and faces abandonment or euthanasia. Finding out what can be included in a pet trust and how it can be secured can help protect a pet from future uncertainty.

Florida law explicitly allows a trust to be created for a pet. Under Florida Statute §736.0408, the trust may be created during the settlor’s lifetime and it terminates upon the death of the pet or, if more than one pet is provided for, upon the death of the last surviving pet. However, many important factors and details must be considered when drafting a will or trust for a pet, as significant problems arise when administering the will or trust.

Capacity and Wills: How to avoid litigation from family members, beneficiaries and creditors

May 22, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Legal Capacity and Estate Planning- How to Help Safeguard a Will from Future Litigation

When a loved one grows older, their caretakers’ ever growing to-do list can become overwhelming. After dealing with the basic, everyday needs of an aging family member, it may sometimes be easy to overlook the fact that your loved one does not have a valid will. By not addressing this issue, the task of handling final affairs and estate distribution after their death becomes increasingly more difficult. If you are responsible for someone who is at risk for developing Alzheimer’s, dementia, or any other disease that can affect their mental capacity, it is important that you consult with an estate planning lawyer who can ensure that a proper will is drafted in accordance with the laws of the state of Florida.

Florida courts have held that a will can be properly admitted to probate if the testator was competent at the time the will was executed. Jervis v. Tucker, 82 So.3d 126 (FL 4th DCA 2002). A testator will be found to have been competent if they possessed the ability to “mentally understand in a general way the nature and extent of the property to be disposed of, and the testator’s relation to those who would naturally claim a substantial benefit from the will, as well as a general understanding of the practical effect of the will as executed.” American Red Cross v. Estate of Haynsworth, 708 So.2d 602, 605 (FL 3rd DCA 1998). Florida courts will apply these standards and also evaluate the facts specific to a particular case in order to determine if a testator was of “sound mind” when they created the will. Estate planning lawyers play an important role in this process and have the responsibility of ensuring that the testator is legally competent at the time the will is created.

Use of Homestead Property and the impact on estate administration

May 8, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

The importance of a Semicolon – Does property partially used as primary residence and partially for business purposes qualify as Homestead?

Does property partially used as primary residence and partially for business purposes qualify as homestead under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution? Surprisingly, the answer apparently rests on a semicolon.

This question was addressed in 2003 by the Florida Court of Appeal for the First District in Davis v. Davis, 864 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003). The facts of this case are as follows: Mr. Horace Davis lived with his wife Carolyn on a contiguous piece of property measuring less than 160 acres outside of municipality in an unincorporated portion of Nassau County. The property included the couple’s residence and on a portion separate from the residence, Mr. Davis operated a mobile home park generating profit through rent. Mr. Davis died in 2000 having written a will.

Homestead sale profits in Florida, a recent court decision

April 21, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Is Investing Homestead Sale Proceeds Okay?

Florida Constitution provides protection from forced sale to homestead property from most creditors. Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const. The protection covers not only the physical homestead property but also the proceeds from the sale of the homestead, provided the proceeds are reinvested in another homestead property. In a scenario where you invest the homestead sale money in securities and then buy another homestead with it, does the money retain homestead protection?

The Florida Supreme Court answered this question in the affirmative in a recent 2016 decision JBK Assocs. v. Sill Bros., 191 So. 3d 879 (Fla. 2016). In that case, JBK Associates, Inc. (“JBK”) obtained a final judgment against Mr. Sill for $740,487.22. Mr. Sill had consequently opened a brokerage account with Wels Fargo and deposited the sale proceeds from the marital home of Mr. Sill and his ex-wife. The account was titled “FL Homestead Account” and was split into three sub-accounts, one containing cash and two containing mutual funds and unit investment trusts.

Same Sex surviving spouses, a recent Florida law change

April 6, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Florida same-sex surviving spouses may be added on a death certificate without a court order

In 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued its pioneering decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015), holding state laws prohibiting or refusing to recognize same-sex marriages unconstitutional. After Obergefell, Florida started recognizing same-sex marriages and began to list a same-sex surviving spouse on the deceased spouse’s death certificate, where the marriage was lawfully entered into in another jurisdiction. However, the surviving spouse was out of luck if the marriage was entered into before Obergefell, unless the surviving spouse obtained an individual court order approving the correction.

This obtrusive situation has changed for now. In a recent order from March 23, 2017, a federal judge granted a summary judgment to a certified class, ordering that Florida must amend any death certificate without a court order when the decedent was lawfully married to a person of the same-sex at the time of the death. The same judge issued an order striking down Florida’s marriage ban in August 2014. The plaintiffs in this case were two gay surviving spouses, married before Obergefell, who filed the case not only on their behalf, but on behalf of other similarly situated persons as well. The plaintiffs sought to have their spouses’ death certificates show they had been married, but the state argued that Florida law prohibited amending the death certificates without a court order.

Homestead protection in Florida

March 28, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

Is Investing Homestead Sale Proceeds Okay?

Florida Constitution provides protection from forced sale to homestead property from most creditors. Art. X, § 4, Fla. Const. The protection covers not only the physical homestead property but also the proceeds from the sale of the homestead, provided the proceeds are reinvested in another homestead property. In a scenario where you invest the homestead sale money in securities and then buy another homestead with it, does the money retain homestead protection?

The Florida Supreme Court answered this question in the affirmative in a recent 2016 decision JBK Assocs. v. Sill Bros., 191 So. 3d 879 (Fla. 2016). In that case, JBK Associates, Inc. (“JBK”) obtained a final judgment against Mr. Sill for $740,487.22. Mr. Sill had consequently opened a brokerage account with Wels Fargo and deposited the sale proceeds from the marital home of Mr. Sill and his ex-wife. The account was titled “FL Homestead Account” and was split into three sub-accounts, one containing cash and two containing mutual funds and unit investment trusts.

Divorced?, Now Single?, New Marriage? Your written estate plan must reflect your desired intentions for beneficiaries

March 14, 2017 | by Chepenik Trushin LLP

What Effect Does Divorce or Remarriage Have On Your Estate Plan

Anytime there is a major life change, whether it is the birth of a child, marriage, or divorce, your estate plan should evolve as your life evolves. But do any of these events result in automatic changes to your estate plan or do you have to update your estate plan after each event?

In most states, including Florida, a divorce will automatically change the terms of your will. Fla. Stat. § 732.507(2) provides that any provision of a will that affects a former spouse will be treated as if the former spouse is deceased upon divorce, unless the will or divorce judgment expressly provides otherwise. This means that when your divorce is official, any portion of your will bequeathing items or money to your ex-spouse will be deemed void. However, if you want to provide for your ex-spouse in some fashion after the divorce, it is important that your will clearly reflect that intent.