Do gay spouses have inheritance  and probate rights in Florida?   Will a same sex marriage be recognized in a Florida probate court?   If one spouse of a gay marriage, or a same sex marriage, dies, does the surviving spouse have inheritance rights in Florida?  What will a Florida probate court do regarding the property rights of a gay man or woman who has just lost his or her gay spouse?  

Are you involved with a Florida estate, will or trust in  Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, or Palm Beach Gardens?  These south Florida cities each have Florida probate courts.   If you are the beneficiary of a Florida estate or trust, you will want to know what assets comprise the Florida estate or trust.  

In Florida probate disputes and trials, Florida probate lawyers and Florida probate courts know that the property interests of a minor beneficiary must be protected.   Florida judges in Palm Beach County, FL,  Broward County, Florida and Miami-Dade County, Florida regularly appoint a Florida probate lawyer to serve as a guardian ad litem for the Florida estate or trust beneficiary.   A recent case or Florida opinion released at the end of September in Miami-Dade County, Florida reminds us that the guardian ad litem serves an important purpose. 

Are you involved in probate litigation in Florida?  Are you a beneficiary of a Florida estate or Florida trust in Miami-Dade , Broward or Palm Beach?  If you are involved in a dispute or Florida estate administration involving a Florida resident’s estate or trust, and you are trying to protect your inheritance rights, you may end up in trial.  Choose a Florida probate lawyer who actually tries cases and knows the  Florida rules of evidence and Florida procedure for trials and appeals—not just a Florida probate lawyer who drafts Florida wills and trusts and who goes to court now and then. 

Do same sex couples have inheritance rights in Florida?   Can a Florida estate be administered by Florida probate lawyers for a surviving spouse who was married to a same sex spouse?  Florida probate law provides married couples and surviving spouses with many inheritance rights and preferences.  Florida probate lawyers know this.  Being a surviving spouse in Florida has value and importance. 

In Florida, many probate lawyers know that a petition of administration filed to “open” an estate typically lists the surviving heirs of the deceased Florida resident.  Who is the surviving spouse and children?   Florida, like most states, has an intestacy statute which instructs all of us how a deceased Florida resident’s property shall pass when that person dies without a Florida will.  If you adopt a person in Florida, that adopted person typically then becomes an “heir” and is no longer an heir of that person’s original, or biological, parents. 

Florida probate lawyers, indeed those Florida lawyers who handle litigation of wills, trusts, estates and inheritances often find themselves in the civil division of our Florida judicial districts in Miami Dade County, Broward County and Palm Beach County, Florida.  The probate division of our Florida courts typically handle administration and litigation of Florida estates and trusts. 

Looking for a probate lawyer in Palm Beach County, Florida? Need a Palm Beach lawyer who can advise you on your inheritance, a will, a Florida trust or a Florida estate?  The good news is that there are many probate lawyers in Palm Beach County, Florida who are knowledgeable and competent. 

In Florida, trust attorneys, estate administration attorneys, and attorneys who are involved with wills, trusts and estates know that a fiduciary owes a duty of loyalty to those they serve.   A  Florida trustee, a Florida personal representative, even one who is the attorney-in-fact, or “power of attorney” under a Florida power of attorney document, owes a duty of loyalty to those they serve.  For  Florida trustees, the duty is owed to beneficiaries. 

What do you do if a Florida guardian is acting improperly?   Florida places strict duties and great obligations upon a fiduciary such as a Florida trustee, a Florida personal representative or executor…..including Florida guardians.  If a Florida guardian is acting improperly, he or she may be fined by court.  Put another way, a court has an inherent right to sanction bad conduct, or to assess money damages against a Florida guardian or a Florida trustee or Florida personal representative.