A trustee is an individual who administers a trust on behalf of the beneficiaries. Trustees are responsible for managing trust assets, including maintaining the property and making sure it is productive – i.e. generates income or profit. However, a trustee’s job can be challenging and downright impossible if they don’t have the skills or expertise …
There are three primary types of lawyers who work with estate law: probate lawyers, estate lawyers, and probate litigation lawyers. While they both work in the same area of law, probate lawyers handle the probate process after an individual passes away, while estate lawyers help living clients set up wills, trusts, or other estate planning …
The death of a spouse is one of life’s most emotionally challenging events, and that sudden change can also create financial uncertainty. While many people assume surviving spouses automatically inherit everything, this is not the case in California. If your deceased spouse dies with a will, their share of community property and their separate property …
A codicil is the name for any document that amends, modifies, changes, or supplements an existing will. It operates in the same way as an amendment to a trust, despite going by a different name. A codicil can be something as simple as changing the executor of the estate, requesting particular property be distributed to …
Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes the deterioration of certain mental faculties. This can lead to impairments in memory, thinking, and judgment, as well as changes in personality and behavior. The question often arises with such an impairment, whether it’s even possible for someone with dementia to make a trust? The short answer …
The emotions that arise when a loved one dies can lead to many potential conflicts, especially among siblings. One of the most common types of disagreements is whether to keep or sell mom and dad’s home after they pass away. While these issues often can be resolved through the probate estate or trust administration process, …
Can Siblings Force the Sale of Inherited Property? Read More »
As is often the case when it comes to the law, the answer to this question is “it depends.” If you have transferred your assets into a revocable trust, your creditors will typically be able to access those revocable trust assets to satisfy a judgment debt. However, if you have transferred your assets into an …
Under Florida law, when someone who owns assets in Florida passes away while residing in another state or country, the Florida property cannot be distributed through an out-of-state probate proceeding. Instead, a process called ancillary probate administration is required to pass ownership of the Florida assets to the deceased’s heirs or beneficiaries. What is Probate …
Under the Florida Probate Rules, some disputes that arise during the administration of an estate are considered adversary proceedings. Probate adversary proceedings differ from a standard formal probate administration. They concern conflicts or contested matters that are related to the formal administration of the estate, but are technically outside of the scope of the administration …
When a married person passes away, their surviving spouse has certain rights regarding the deceased spouse’s estate. Under Florida’s waiver of spousal rights statute, surviving spouses may waive some or all of these rights. What is Florida Probate Code Section 732.702? Section 732.702 is Florida’s waiver of spousal rights statute, and it details the requirements …
A pour-over will is a type of will that leaves your assets to the trustee of a trust when you pass away. Pour-over wills can be used to transfer property into a trust you created during your lifetime, known as a living trust or inter vivos (Latin for “while alive”) trust. A pour-over will can …
An administrator ad litem is a person appointed by the probate court to represent an estate’s interests in a lawsuit. The term “ad litem” is Latin for “during the litigation” or “during the action” so the administrator ad litem is only responsible for representing the estate’s interests in the lawsuit, proceeding, or action they are …