Did your relative have a contradictory estate plan? Often times a person will leave property in his or her will and also set up trusts towards the end of life. What happens when the will leaves the property to you but it was transferred to a real estate trust first? Can you set aside that transfer? That is what one appellant tried to do in this recent case out of the Court of Appeals in California.
Is your mom or dad getting along in years in Florida? Is mom or dad a widow maybe living alone in Boca Raton with a few Million Dollars in their revocable living trust? Worried about your Florida probate inheritance when they pass away? Should you be concerned if mom or dad has a new caretaker and that caretaker is named in their estate planning documents? Did mom or dad just take on a full time companion or personal assistant? How about this…. is that personal assistant or live-in-friend now in their Florida estate plan? You may want toread this court of appeals case from Washington issued August 11, 2015.
Are you wondering why your West Palm Beach probate lawyer seems set on establishing a real estate or special needs trust? Believe it or not more and more people are using trusts to hold theirhomestead real estate and other important assets for their own benefit and the future. If you want to know why check out our quick reference guide to the various benefits of trusts in West Palm Beach.
Here is a case which will make family members, heirs at law and even some probate lawyers Palm Beach cringe. Whether or not you agree with the appellate opinion on this elder abuse case does not matter. Whether you agree with the State of Florida bringing criminal charges against a man for financial exploitation of an elderly person Florida does not matter. What you should consider doing is reading the facts of this case, and seeing what happened to a woman from Palm Beach County with a vast financial empire. On June 24, 2015, Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal reversed a conviction of a man who was found guilty of financial exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult Florida. He wanted to be acquitted, or get a judgment of acquittal, in this criminal case of Palm Beach financial exploitation. The Palm Beach Appeals court agreed with him and reversed the conviction. But read the facts, which makes people stop, and wonder: who is watching mom or dad and the money which has taken a lifetime to accumulate? Is anyone watching over and protecting mom or dad, particularly if they get dementia ?
Did you know that the person who witnesses your will in West Palm Beach might be on the hook years down the road? Those witnesses (you better have two) are going to have to testify in West Palm Beach probate court that they witnessed you executing that will. Using a self-proving affidavit could get rid of this burden and make probate just a little bit easier. Do you know what a self proving affidavit is? You may be able to add one to your old will today and save everyone some time (and money)!
Do you know why trusts are becoming more and more popular as estate planning substitutes in West Palm Beach? Although Florida has no State inheritance tax you may be subject to the Federal estate tax. Do you know the rules? Check out what a trust can do for you and your family in West Palm Beach.
OK, so you are involved in a major will contest in Florida. Perhaps there is a Last Will out there where your mother left you nothing. You got disinherited! But there is a prior will which you leaves you half, or 50%, of the $5 Million Boca Raton Estate. And, you did some google searches, and online research, and you learn that there is this legal thing called the doctrine of dependent relative revocation in Florida Probate Law, and you think it can help you recover your inheritancefrom the Palm Beach probate. So, you want to object to the Florida will and file a will contest West Palm Beach under the Florida Probate Code. You want a trial lawyer who handles probate litigation in Palm Beach County and so you are interviewing probate litigation law firms West Palm Beach. So, do you want your probate litigator going to Yoga or Cross Fit?
Are your parents living in South Florida while you live in New York or else where? Are you concerned about theirfinancial and social well-being? You may want petition the West Palm Beach probate court for guardianship. Do you know the process? If not check out this West Palm Beach quick reference guide to guardianship.
If you are wondering what happens to people who commit financial exploitaiton of the elderly in Florida? They get criminal charges filed against them and then put on trial. Elder abuse and financial exploitation are both serious matters in Palm Beach; not only for law enforcement and appeals courts, but alsofamily members. Elder abuse is a crime, sure, but did you know that there are civil or Palm Beach probate remedies in civil court that family members can use to try to get stolen money returned? That’s right, if you are the trustee of a Boca Raton revocable trust, or perhaps a beneficiary of a Delray Beach estate, ask your Florida probate lawyer about howbeneficiaries, heirs at law and widows can sue for civil theft, conversion, tortuous interference with an inheritance or expectancy and fraud. Anyway, here is a recent, June 24, 2015 Florida 4th District Court of Appeal case where someone was convicted of financial exploitation of the elderly, and then, on appeal, to the Palm Beach appeals court, theconviction was reversed and the motion for judgment of acquital should have been granted. Acquitted of financial abuse and financial exploitation of the elderly. Here is a link to read the entire 4th DCA legal opinion on this Palm Beach financial abuse case: http://www.4dca.org/opinions/June%202015/06-24-15/4D13-1952.op.pdf
If you are involved in a Florida contract case or a Florida divorce or the Palm Beach prenuptial agreement calls for attorneys fees, you may want to read this September 2, 2015 Palm Beach appellate opinion fromFlorida’s 4th District Court of Appeal. This is a Delray Beach divorce case involving aprenup and a family trust. (The Delray Beach probate court and divorce court is located on Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida.) Also, if you are involved in a Florida divorce or dissolution of marriage proceeding, and you are wondering how much is included in theFlorida divorce property distribution calculations when a prenuptial agreement is involved, consider reading this Delray Beach divorce case. Finally, what if the husband has a valuable business interest in a familiy trust; does that get counted for divorce property distribution in Florida divorces? Does a Florida trust count in divorce property calculations? Consider reading the 4th DCA case of Berg v. Young. Here is the 4th DCA appeals court link from Florida’s Palm Beach Appeals Court, the 4th DCA, to read the appellate opinion on this Delray Beach divorce involving a family trust, a prenuptial agreement and a valuable business interest, and, whether you get attorneys fees or not under a contract or prenuptial agreement:http://www.4dca.org/opinions/Sept.%202015/9-02-15/4D13-2364.op.pdf