Congratulations to Robert Hauser, a partner at the West Palm Beach, Florida law firm Pankauski Law Firm PLLC for his recent  appellate work and victory at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is a federal court which hears appeals for the southern district of Florida, which is a US Federal Court sitting in Miami, West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale.  The 11th Circuit also hears appeals for federal bankruptcy cases.

Many wealthy Florida clients struggle — struggle– with the worry that their $$ will ruin their kids. You may recall reports that late actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s estate plan had only one trust for one child and that there was commentary that he did not want to create trust funds babies (or words to that effect.)

Many wealthy Florida residents have great estate plans, but one segment of the population that sometimes overlooks estate planning are singles. There is a great new online article about estate planning for singles by TIAA-CREF.  The link to the article is below, but here are a few pointers to consider based on what is seen by Palm Beach County probate litigation firms and Florida estate lawyers.

Check out this interesting article about Estate Planning mistakes to avoid by finance writer Michele Lerner.

Here is the link to a free online article or commentary about Robin Williams’ estate, estate taxes and whether there was proper estate planning to secure inheritances and save on the Federal Estate Tax: http://epilawg.com/2014/08/robin-williams-estate-subject-to-california-probate/

Congratulations to Board Certified Appellate Attorney Robert Hauser who successfully argued an appeal at the US Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, in Atlanta last month.  Pankauski Law Firm ‘s Robert Hauser’s fine appellate work assisted his client with reversing a lower court’s order.  In addition, the opinion of the US Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, went much further:  the appellate court ordered the lower court to conduct hearings necessary to require an accounting, disgorgement, to issue orders imposing sanctions, writs of garnishment and attachment in favor of Rob’s client and against the adverse parties.  Congratulations, Rob, for your work on federal appeals.

A recent change to the Florida Trust Code is one which every Florida trust lawyer, trustee and beneficiary should know about.

Florida Probate Code section 733.808 has changed and you should know about it if you are involved with a Palm Beach probate.

If you are a Florida probate lawyer or an estate beneficiary or executor of a will, you will want to know about the change to Florida’s law on undue influence.

The State of Florida passed a new law to protect citizens 60 years of age and older from financial exploitation.