Palm Beach County probate sells valuable real estate….. can this be done? Probate Attorneys Florida Sell Real Estate Without Telling Beneficiaries

Many Florida residents, indeed many seniors, are afflicted with dementia.  A  common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s.

Our West Palm Beach probate litigation law firm is just blocks from the West Palm Beach courthouse on Dixie Highway.   A recent business litigation case from the Main Courthouse in West Palm Beach just made it up to the Appeals Court for the West Palm Beach Courthouse:  the 4th District Court of Appeals.   If you are involved in a Palm Beach Lawsuit and believe there has been fraud on the court, you should consider reading this Palm Beach legal opinion.

A Palm Beach Appeals Court opinion issued July 9, 2014 reveals how dementia can be an issue in a Florida lawsuit.  Anyone who wonders whether a defendant or plaintiff is suffering from dementia will want to read this recent case, where the West Palm Beach appeals court, just yesterday, explains how you can take a mental examination of the other party to your lawsuit.

Hey Florida trustees:   thinking of investing trust assets in that IPO, hedge fund, alternative investment or maybe some privately held interests you have access to?  Florida trustees, and fiduciaries, should consider a recent New York Times article by best selling author Nick Bilton before investing trust funds.

As Florida probate & guardianship have grappled with the right to die, so, too, has Europe. At the end of June, the Financial Times provided an interesting perspective on two issues which Europe is grappling with: 1) letting someone make health care decisions for you if you can’t, and     2)  also assisted suicide. Florida does not permit assisted suicide or euthanasia. Florida does have a number of probate laws regarding health care documents.

LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling was in court testifying about his Family Trust and the sale of the LA Clippers, evidently by his wife, Ms. Sterling, who is the Family Trust Trustee. According to published reports:  “Ms. Sterling says she has the right to sell the team without her husband because he is no longer mentally capable of acting as a trustee. Mr. Sterling denied that in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday, insisting that doctors at the Cleveland Clinic told him he was “razor sharp.” “

Florida is not the only state where families fight over trusts, billions of $$  and  whether someone is incompetent or not to handle one’s business affairs — or run a family trust.

A recent New York Times, www.nytimes.com,  in the business section, had a great article on divorce & your retirement accounts As many of you who have read my Florida probate blog know, I’ve written, and spoken, a lot about death, probate & divorce. This New York Times article focusses on divorce and your retirement account. Why is this important?

An interesting article on probate & artwork in the recent issue of Penta, published by Barron’s, www.barrons.com. Q:  What do you do with artwork that creates a taxable estate? Q:  How will you plan your estate and do you have a plan to pay your estate tax?