Is It Time For A Successor Trustee To Take Control Of Your Florida Trust?

Physical infirmity, age, or health may affect the ability of your loved ones in Florida to handle his or her personal or financial affairs. Alzheimer’s and dementia law Florida will become more prevalent, according to the National Institute on Aging page: here.

In the coming years, an estimated half-million individuals under the age of 65 will have some form of dementia. What does this mean when dealing with your Boca Raton Trust, or West Palm Beach Trust Lawyer?

Living longer in today’s society has imposed a dilemma as to when to determine that aTrustee of a Lifetime Revocable Trust lacks capacity and the Co-Trustee or Successor Trustee should take control of the Trust.

This was the case with Donald Sterling and the sale of the LA Clippers to Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer:

• Shelly Sterling, Donald’s wife, was the successor trustee in their family trust, which controled the managing share of the LA Clippers
• In May 2014, Shelly made headlines when it became public that she claimed Donald wasmentally incapacitated.
• Donald denied her allegations and alleged that Shelly did not follow the proper protocol required by the Trust to remove him as Co-Trustee.
• However, Donald was eventually determined to be mentally incapacitated, and Shelly gained full control of the Trust as Sole Trustee and proceeded with the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to Balmer.

Any West Palm Beach Trust Litigation attorney will tell you that the Florida Courts would most likely take a similar stance as long as the language in the Trust reflected the Trustee’s intent and the language was not ambiguous as to the steps to remove a Florida Trustee if he or she was determined to be incapacitated.

See http://www.pankauskilawfirm.com/ for videos and information on Wills in Florida, Florida Trust Law, Estate Planning, and Estate Administration in Florida.