Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal ruled October 26, 2016, that the estate planning attorney for a deceased client must testify in an undue influence trial and will contest. The attorney objected to answering questions about his client disinheriting children. The trial court ordered him to testify. What is an undue influence trial? How can an attorney be required to testify when there is attorney client privilege? In Florida, what are the exceptions to the attorney client privilege?
What is a guardian? Am I qualified to become a guardian in Florida? What is the Florida guardianship process? Is it complicated? When do I need assistance from a guardianship lawyer? How do I get a probate court to appoint me as the guardian of my mother? How do I get appointed as the guardian of my father who has dementia?
Are you the trustee of a West Palm Beach or Orlando trust? Do you feel you need to resign as trustee? If you are the trustee of a Florida trust, do you understand the rules of how to resign? Have you hired a Florida probate lawyer to advise you of the rules? Do you know the relevant time frames and deadlines? Do you know what you are supposed to do regarding the trust beneficiaries and trust property? Finally, from a selfish standpoint, do you know how to limit your liability if you are a Florida trustee who is resigning?
What is dying intestate n Florida? If my mom or dad dies intestate, who will inherit their house? Is it a good idea to die intestate or should I consult with a Palm Beach estate planning attorney? What do the Florida intestacy laws say? If my spouse dies intestate in Miami Beach, do I inherit?
Is your brother or sister “messing” with your inheritance? If so, can you sue them in a Florida probate court ? Can you sue a sibling for tortious interference of your inheritance if your sibling convinced your dad to write you out of his Florida will? You may have heard of tortious interference but do you know when you have a strong claim for it in probate litigation?
Can you amend a Florida probate or civil lawsuit? What should your guardianship litigation lawyer know about amending lawsuits in Florida? People frequently file lawsuits and complaints in the West Palm Beach probate and guardianship courts. Are you allowed to amend a complaint after it is already officially filed?
According to an April 26,2018 Rolling Stones article, the renowned Dj known as “Avicci” passed away. Who will inherit DJ Avicci’s millions of dollars in earnings? Did Aviici save his millions or spend it all? Who are his heirs? What does his estate plan, if he has one, say? Will his parents inherit? These are all questions that probate lawyers worldwide want to know.
On April 28, 2018, The Rolling Stones reported that Swedish DJ Tim Bergling, famously known as Avicci, had passed away. He was only 28 years old when he passed away unexpectedly from a suspected suicide. Did he have a will or a proper estate plan in place? Which probate litigation or estate law firm will handle the probate process for his estate? Who will inherit the millions of dollars that he earned as a renowned DJ?
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.
A power of attorney( POA) can be a dangerous document if it gets into the wrong hands. Probate litigators in West Palm Beach know that people, unfortunately, abuse POAs and take your money. It happens more often than you could imagine. Our trust and estates litigation office receives many calls from prospective clients suggesting that a power of attorney document has been misused. This is why – just like guardianship litigation – power of attorney litigation is almost a sub-specialty of probate litigation. In case you didn’t know it already, people who claim to be your friends or relatives misuse powers of attorney. They use and abuse your power of attorney to sign deeds, to change your beneficiaries, to withdraw money from your bank accounts, to put their names on your financial accounts, and to take your money and property. In Florida, we refer to these actions as “financial exploitation” or “financial abuse.”