Disqualification of a Florida lawyer is particularly important in a Florida estate, probate or Florida trust case. How can a lawyer be disqualified in a Florida probate or guardianship case? Florida estate planning attorneys, over the course of providing legal services to Florida clients, may be confronted with a potential conflict of interest. What is a conflict of interest? How does the court decide whether an attorney should be disqualified or not?
Are you being sued for something that was already settled through probate mediation or another Palm Beach estate lawsuit? The claim may be barred through a doctrine called res judicata. Check out this recent Second District Court of Appeal(DCA) case to learn more.
Do Florida probate courts recognize common law marriages? What is a common law marriage? Will Florida recognize a common law marriage if it was created in a jurisdiction outside of Florida that recognizes common law marriages? You may want to read Cohen v. Shushan, a March 15,2017 Second DCA opinion.
What is a duty of impartiality? What should your probate lawyer in West Palm Beach know about this duty? Did you know that, If you are a beneficiary of a Florida trust, the trustee owes you a duty of impartiality?
Florida does not recognize common law marriages. However, in some circumstances, it does recognize common law marriages from other states and countries. What does this mean? If you have lived with your loved one for fifty years, yet never legally married him or her, will he or she inherit from your Florida estate if you die without a will? You should read Florida Statute 741.211.
According to Florida law, what is a pretermitted spouse? What should probate litigators in West Palm Beach know about pretermitted spouses? If your husband wrote his Florida will years before he met you, you may want to read Florida Statute 732.301.
An August 3, 2016 appeal out of the Fourth District Court of Appeal sheds some light on how to get sanctions against the other side for frivolous lawsuits. Have you heard of Florida Statute, section 57.105? This statute may be able to get you attorney’s fees in West Palm Beach probate. However, this case shows that it is not as easy as you may think.
If I am appointed as the executor or personal representative of a Florida will, when do I have to begin work? What if I don’t want to be the personal representative of a Palm Beach estate? Do I have a duty, as nominated personal representative of a Florida estate, to prevent harm caused by the estate? Am I the official personal representative if I have not yet been appointed by a Florida probate court? A February 21, 2017 First District Court of Appeal opinion discusses this issue and a Milton, Florida estate.
What does murder have to do with Florida trust and estates litigation? Under Florida probate law, how can murder affect a person’s inheritance? A Florida probate lawyer can tell you that Florida statutes section 732.802, also known as the Slayer Statute, bars a convicted murderer from benefitting under a will of the decedent that he or she murdered. This makes sense. Why should a person who kills another person be able to inherit from the victim’s estate? Wouldn’t that, perhaps, tempt greedy beneficiaries to commit murder?
In Florida, can you get sanctions against the other side for a frivolous lawsuit? What is a frivolous lawsuit in Florida probate litigation? What should my probate law firm know about frivolous lawsuits? What is Florida Statute, section 57.105? West Palm Beach wills lawyers know that this statute may be able to get you attorney’s fees.