Administering an estate is often more complicated than people realize. You have to inventory the estate, contact creditors, pay debts, handle final expenses, complete accountings, and ensure that assets are properly distributed. Yet, matters can be even more complex...
Probate
What is a living will?
When it comes to setting up an estate plan in Florida, you are probably familiar with some of the more common documents, such as a will or power of attorney. However, you may have heard of something called a living will and wonder what it is and if it is different...
Challenging the validity of a will in Florida
Most Floridians regard a will as the last word on how the assets of a particular family member will be divided among survivors. This assumption is true in most cases, but in some cases, a family member will be disappointed, if not enraged, at the manner in which the...
An overview of ancillary probate
When a person passes away with a will, it must go through probate. Probate is the process where a deceased person’s assets are distributed and their debts are paid. For property owners, there is a lesser-known process called ancillary probate that is helpful to...
Probate: can I name a non-resident as my personal representative?
Selecting a personal representative for your estate is an important decision. The role carries a great deal of responsibility and you want someone you can trust in that role. But what if the person you want to name as your representative doesn’t live in Florida?...
The ABCs of a successful will contest in Florida
A will contest is a lawsuit brought by a person who feels that he or she was wrongly excluded from the beneficiaries named in the will. The lawsuit must be started and tried in probate court. A will contest can be based upon a number of grounds. The persons contesting...
Will contests aren’t the only reason for estate litigation
There are times in which a family member will want to contest the will of a Tampa resident. Too often, other people, including other family members, engage in underhanded tricks that in reality undermine what a person really wanted to do with his or her wealth after...
Who can serve as a personal representative in probate?
When an estate goes through probate in Florida, one party has to be responsible for certain estate administration tasks. If the deceased person left a valid will, they appointed a personal representative to oversee the administration. (In other states, this role is...
The formal administration process in Florida
Probate is essentially the supervised legal process for closing out the estate of the deceased according to the laws of the state in which they resided. In Florida, there are two main types of probate, formal and summary administration, and there is also a process...
The 4 grounds for challenging a will
Losing a loved one is never easy and finding out you were left out of their will can come as an unpleasant shock. When this happens, those in the Tampa area may want to contest the will especially if they believe their disinheritance was due to defects in the will,...