Search Results: guardianships

Are you worried that you may have inadvertently waved your inheritance rights as a surviving spouse? Marriage by fraud and inheritance rights. What you need to know about Florida probates. Hello my name is John Pakauski. I’m an estate litigation lawyer with Pankauski Hauser in West Palm Beach, Florida. The appellate attorneys and probate lawyers in our firm handle matters throughout the state of Florida. We handle trials, disputes and appeals and that’s all we do in four very limited areas. Probates & estates, trusts, guardianships and business transactions. Now, can you have a probate lawsuit if you believe that a marriage was procured or obtained by fraud. Can you prevent a spouse, a husband or wife from inheriting in a Florida probate or estate? The short answer is yes. The long answer … is the devil’s in the details.These facts are, these cases are very fact specific when you try them and making your case in fighting hard are very very important. But you can read something for free right now that’ll help start answering questions for you, if you’re wondering if some marriage was obtained by fraud and you can cut off those inheritance rights. Read 732.805 That’s the portion of the Florida probate code that specifically talks about this unique set of facts, cutting off someones inheritance rights when a marriage has been obtained by fraud or duress or even under the influence.

It’s important to keep abreast of how other states are handling guardianship cases. You know guardianship litigation and guardianship filings for adults are rising throughout the country. Here in Palm Beach County and throughout Florida, probate court judges now have an increasing number of cases dealing with guardianships of adults, not minor children. So what are other courts doing in the rest of the country. Well you can read about that by reading appellate opinions from other states and many times you can read them for free. If you want to learn about guardianship proceedings and what the nature of a guardianship proceeding is all about, consider reading a very recent case May 29th 2018 from an Ohio opinion. It’s the matter of guardianship of Rosenberger. You can read it at 2018 WL 244-0498. Many times guardianships are not supposed to be contested or adversarial or mean-spirited but sometimes family members fight to control mom, control dad and who’s going to control the money in a guardianship. All these answers and in your queries to other questions about guardianship can be answered by an experienced trial lawyer who also handles guardianship matters.

Extended family members can inherit from a Florida Probate but as always, it depends on the circumstances. If there is no will, the issue becomes murky but regardless being able to provide a clear family tree is important. Do nieces and nephews inherit from a Florida probate? Hello my name is John Pankauski. The lawyers and appellate attorneys in our firm handle matters throughout the State of Florida and we limit our practice to four areas. Estates and Probate, Trusts, Guardianships and Business transactions. If you’re involved in litigation in the State of Florida call us for a free consultation. Now, can nieces or nephews inherit in the State of Florida. Yes you can. The question gets a little more complicated if somebody dies without a will. In that case, family members and so-called heirs inherit but it’s not always clear who does. You need a family tree. Particularly if someone doesn’t have a spouse or descendants, like children and grandchildren. Then we have to ask whether the decedent the dead person had parents or siblings and if they had siblings there’s an anti-lapse statute that says if a sibling predeceased the person who just died, their children may inherit nieces and nephews. So if you’re a niece or a nephew and a rich aunt or rich uncle just died in Florida make sure you talk to an experienced probate litigation attorney. Not just somebody who handles probates or estates but somebody who’s used to fighting hard, advocating, knows evidence, […]

If you believe there was a mistake in the creation of a will, it is possible to get it changed, under certain circumstances. Hello, my name is John Pankauski, I’m a will litigation attorney at Pankauski Hauser. The trial lawyers and appellate attorneys at our firms handle matters throughout the State of Florida and we limit our practice to trials disputes and appeals involving four areas of the law. Estates & Probates, Guardianships and Business matters. Now can you change a will? Do you know how many prospective clients call our firm and interview our attorneys asking us about a will that had a mistake where somebody was omitted, didn’t receive the inheritance they were supposed to receive, may have gotten cut out or maybe somebody else received a much bigger inheritance or share than they were suppose too. Can you change a will after death. The answer is in Florida – yes read chapter 732.615 about reforming a will based on a mistake but talk to a serious probate litigation law firm who’s actually tried cases on Reformation. It very unique area of the law it’s relatively new to Florida even though the statue is a few years old but a lot of probate lawyer say they go to court, say they handle cases and they really don’t. They don’t know the evidence code they don’t know the rules of civil procedure they don’t handle a lot of trials and they don’t handle a lot of appeals. So be […]

Does your grandmother suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s? Do you feel that your dad, who is mentally ill, is being taken advantage of by a friend or caretaker? How can a Florida guardianship help to protect a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease? Does your elderly friend need a legal guardian? Do you need to hire a probate lawyer in West Palm Beach?

Increasingly, for good or for ill, guardianship litigation is exploding in West Palm Beach, Orlando and throughout the entire state of Florida. Families are going to the probate court and creating a guardianship for their mom or dad, or some loved one or neighbor, who is not able to care for themselves. What do you need to know about guardianships in Florida and what are 5 things you should really consider before filing for one?

In Florida probate court, familial relations matter.  Who has standing to participate in a guardianship hearing? Does the next of kin of the Ward have standing to participate? A recent guardianship opinion from the Fourth District Court of Appeal discusses standing and a son’s participation in a guardianship hearing regarding attorney’s fees.

Jason Lazarus is a partner at Pankauski Lazarus PLLC in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Mr. Lazarus is a business-minded litigator with substantial experience handling complex litigation cases in state and federal court. Mr. Lazarus practices in the areas of probate, trust and guardianship litigation and commercial litigation.  Mr. Lazarus has been a practicing attorney for over 25 years. Mr. Lazarus routinely represents fiduciaries, beneficiaries and heirs in a wide array of estate, trust and guardianship disputes, including will and trust contests, trust modification and reformation proceedings, removal and surcharge actions involving trustees and other fiduciaries, breach of fiduciary and tortious interference claims, homestead and elective share disputes, prenuptial agreement disputes, contested guardianships and competency proceedings, and other complex and sensitive claims involving fiduciaries and beneficiaries. Mr. Lazarus also handles a broad range of commercial litigation matters.  Before joining Pankauski Lazarus PLLC, Mr. Lazarus was a partner in Holland & Knight’s West Palm Beach office, where he practiced for 17 years. During that time, Mr. Lazarus handled a wide array of commercial litigation matters, including contract and business torts, real estate litigation, non-compete litigation, pursuit of pre-judgment and post-judgment remedies on behalf of financial institutions and other creditors, partnership and shareholder disputes, life insurance coverage disputes and healthcare litigation. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Lazarus served as an Assistant State Attorney in Jacksonville, Florida for several years. During that time, he prosecuted thousands of cases, and handled everything from misdemeanors to a variety of felony cases in the Felony […]

West Palm Beach probate lawyers know that probate judges view guardianships very seriously. This is because, if a person person is deemed incompetent and in need of a guardianship, certain rights may be taken away from them.

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?