Does a surviving spouse have rights when it comes to inheritance? Can my wife give her house to someone else in her Florida will? Can my husband leave me and our minor children nothing? What are spousal rights in Palm Beach probate litigation? Can my spouse of twenty years leave all of his money to his children from a prior marriage?

Did you know that both Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain were married, but separated from their spouses, at the time of their death. What does this mean? Even though he was separated from Kate Spade, will Kate Spade’s husband inherit from her estate as a surviving spouse? What inheritance rights does Anthony Bourdain’s wife have?

 Did a relative who lives in Palm Beach, Florida recently pass away? Perhaps you live out of state, not in Florida, and you’re wondering where your inheritance is? How can I get an inheritance from someone who died in Florida if I live all the way in New York?

On June 8, 2018 BBC News reported that Anthony Bourdain, best known as a celebrity chef and CNN TV star, has passed away. He was only 61 years old at the time of his death. He died in France. Did Bourdain have a solid estate plan in place?  Who will inherit from his estate? What is his estate worth? Did he have a will? Did he have a trust? 

On June 5,2018, The New York Times reported that Kate Spade, the renowned fashion designer, had passed away.

Did you know that there is a section of the Florida Statutes that regards leaving a trust for your pets? Don’t you want to make sure that your pet would be well taken care of if something were to happen to you? Pet trusts are becoming more and more popular. West Palm Beach estate planning lawyers now frequently encounter clients wishing to insure that their beloved fur baby is included  in their Florida estate plan.  A November 23, 2017 article in the Mesquite Local News discusses pet trusts. Although this article discusses pet trusts in Florida, Florida pet trusts work similarly.

Guardianship lawyers frequently receive calls from family members who are worried about an elderly relative. Perhaps. the family member believes that the elderly relative is suffering from dementia and being taken advantage of by a caretaker or POA.  Sometimes a guardianship is recommended by a probate lawyer to protect the person with dementia. Do you believe your elderly mom or dad is being taken advantage of? Does your grandmother have dementia? Do guardianships guarantee that your your elderly parent or friend, who suffers from dementia, will not become the victim of financial exploitation?

If you ask any estate litigation attorney,  they will tell you that Florida probate court judges focus repeatedly on one thing: the intent of the decedent. What was the intent of the person who passed away, and how was that intent expressed in their Florida will? What if the intent of the decedent was not clear in the will? Can evidence be used to prove what the testator, or person who wrote the will, wanted? Can the Palm Beach estate planning attorney who drafted the will testify in probate court ? Can your probate or trust lawyer depose the witnesses who watched the testator sign his or her will?

Trust and estates lawyers frequently find themselves deposing witnesses. What is a deposition? Who can be deposed in Florida? A deposition is where someone is placed in front of a video tape and/or a court reporter, and asked questions by opposing counsel. The person being deposed is required to answer the questions truthfully and under oath. What If a minor child is the key witness in your matter? Can your litigation lawyer depose the minor child or are you out of luck? Are there special rules that guardianship attorneys and Florida estate lawyers must follow when deposing a minor?  Will the law permit a minor to get protection from being deposed? A case, involving a motor vehicle accident, in the Second DCA dealt with this subject.

On February 16,2017, the Times Daily reports about an Alabama man who has been arrested for allegedly “exploiting, abusing and leaving his elderly father in what one authority called “deplorable” living conditions.”  According to the article, Wesley Wayne McAlister deprived his father, who he was supposed to be taking care of,  of electricity, water, air conditioning, and food. Furthermore, he took his dad’s debit card, got cash with it, and used the cash to buy illegal drugs. Although this is not a Florida case, similar cases of financial exploitation of the elderly frequently occur in Florida. How can you protect your loved ones? Do you believe that someone you know has been financially exploited? Do you need a West Palm Beach guardianship or probate attorney?