Based on a recent appellate decision from Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, “standing” in some Florida guardianship matters has been severely restricted to those people with an immediate and direct interestin the guardianship proceedings. “Standing” is the ability of a party in a legal proceeding to demonstrate to the court that he or she has a sufficient connection to the proceeding, such to support the party’s participation in the case.

Depending on the value of the assets you own or control when you die, the executor of your estate may have to pay federal estate taxes before your assets can be fully distributed to your loved ones, beneficiaries, and heirs.  Luckily, however, Florida imposes no separate estate tax.

Revocable living trusts in Florida are created both to avoid probate and to keep assets out ofthe hands of aFlorida guardian. The Florida Guardianship Code, however, can allow a guardian to take control of the assets of a Florida revocable trust, thereby eliminating one of the primary purposes of having arevocable trust established.

Did you loan money to someone who passed away before paying you back? Fortunately, this does not mean that the debt died as well.

Suppose that you are an executor of a Boca Raton estate and learn that your dad or mom had a private investment in aFlorida limited liability company… What are your rights to the LLC as executor? Can you look at the books, get an accounting, and find out where all the money is?

In a recent post, we reported on how Florida probate courts handle inheritances involving limited liability companies (LLCs).  Specifically, we posed the question: What should an executor of a will know about an interest in a Florida Limited Liability Company? 

Generally, after someone dies in Florida, their heirs and beneficiaries open up  a probate estate with the court.  Want the rules? Read the Florida Probate Code online for free.  After the estate is opened, an executor or personal representative is usually appointed to oversee the Florida estate administration. 

In the unfortunate instances when Florida elders become mentally incapacitated,  they will often need legal guardians. The rules of Florida Guardianship Law grant guardians a lot of power to act for the persons whom they are appointed to protect (called a “ward”).  And, at the same time, these rules alsoremove some of the rights of the elder to act on his or her own behalf.

What is going on in the world right now regarding estates and inheritances? Two major estate and inheritance casesare making the headlines and are the subject of talk radio. 

Wall Street Journal writer Anna Prior wrote a great piece in this weekend’s (January 17-19, 2015) Journal on “Pro or No? Picking a Trustee“.