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Yearly Archives: 2018

Trust Fund Babies in Florida

Uncategorized Feb 22, 2018
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Have you ever heard the term “trust fund baby”? This is someone who, by luck, is the beneficiary of a massive trust holding millions and millions of dollars. Usually, trust fund babies have lots of money simply because they were born to wealthy families, not because they worked for it. The truth is that trust fund babies and trust fund beneficiaries have rights. The Florida Trust Code  is a body of law, in our statutes, that gives beneficiaries, including trust fund babies, lots of rights. To learn more about your rights as the beneficiary of a West Palm Beach or Orlando trust, you should talk to a Florida probate litigation lawyer.

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Where Do Out of State Family Members Turn for a Florida Probate Law Firm?

Uncategorized Feb 15, 2018
post about Where Do Out of State Family Members Turn for a Florida Probate Law Firm?

Pankauski Hauser PLLC provides focused, serious representation in the area of probate & business litigation and appeals, wills, trusts and estate disputes to clients throughout Florida and nationwide. Admittedly, our firm is not for everyone. Our firm is never hired to “write letters”. Our law firm is hired to sue someone, or to vigorously defend someone, and to resolve the underlying dispute. Strategy. Trial. Resolution. We only handle disputes and controversies, which allows us to refine our trial techniques with every case that we complete. We are serious litigators – we prepare every case as though it will go to trial, and our attorneys are in the courtroom almost every day.

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When Can a Trial Court Dispose of an Undue Influence Claim by Summary Judgment?

Uncategorized Feb 12, 2018
post about When Can a Trial Court Dispose of an Undue Influence Claim by Summary Judgment?

A June 6, 2017 opinion from the Court of Appeals of Georgia, Slosberg v. Giller, regards a family probate dispute and undue influence. Although this is not a Florida trust and estates case, probate litigators and trust attorneys frequently encounter similar lawsuits. Furthermore, Slosberg v. Giller provides us, whether we are Georgia probate lawyers or Florida trust attorneys, with a great definition of undue influence and some of the requirements of an undue influence claim.  Palm Beach trust and estates lawyers are often hired to “fight” changes to wills, trusts, or estate planning documents that may have been the product of undue influence. Undue influence claims in Florida probate courts are common, and experienced West Palm Beach estate lawyers know how to successfully litigate them. When can a trial court dispose of an undue influence claim by summary judgment? Can a trial court limit the scope of evidence to the time periods in which the father executed the challenged documents?

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Common Law Marriage and James Brown’s Estate

Uncategorized Feb 5, 2018
post about Common Law Marriage and James Brown’s Estate

According to a February 4, 2018 New York Times article, the beneficiaries of James Brown’s estate have not yet received any money. This is because more than a dozen lawsuits related to his estate have been filed. Probate lawyers know that litigation can make the probate process much longer. One of the lawsuits challenges whether Brown’s widow, Tommie Rae Hynie, was even his wife. What if he was not legally married to her?

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Adoption & Florida Probate:If I Am Adopted, Do I Inherit From My Adoptive Parents, My Natural Parents, Or Both?

Uncategorized Jan 26, 2018
post about Adoption & Florida Probate:If I Am Adopted, Do I Inherit From My Adoptive Parents, My Natural Parents, Or Both?

Do adopted children inherit from their adoptive parents or their natural parents? When does a child’s right to inherit from their natural parent no longer exist? Do adopted children inherit from the parents that adopted them? What about foster children? If I am adopted, can I still inherit from my biological father? You should read Florida Statute 732.108.

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