Search Results: revocable trust

One of the calls that’s most frequent to the lawyers at our firm involves attorney compensation for Trust and Estates. Is the attorney who is representing the estate getting paid too much? When is too much, too much? Hello my name is John Pankauski, I’m an estate litigation attorney in West Palm Beach, Florida. The probate litigation and appellate lawyers in our firm handle matters throughout the State of Florida and one of the calls that’s most frequent to the lawyers at our firm involves attorney compensation for Trust and Estates. Is an attorney who is representing the estate getting paid too much? Now you have to be careful because there’s a couple of statutes that are very very important and if you think a lawyer is charging too much in a Florida probate, an estate you need to raise an objection properly and be careful because that lawyer if he or she is also rendering services to a trust can also try to get compensation from the trust. Read these two statues for free. They will give you a lot of guidance, 733-6171 that’s in the Florida probate compensation of an estate attorney. But be mindful that there are also corresponding statutes in the Florida trust code. So if the decadent, the person who passed away also had a revocable trust or a living trust be mindful of chapter 736, that’s the Florida Trust code, sections 1004, 1005 and 1007. You may be surprised at the amount of fees […]

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?

The Florida Electronic Wills Act was just vetoed by Governor Scott. This means that, for now, there will be no electronic wills in Florida. However, do you have a regular, written will? Does your will have ink signatures and witnesses? Does it have a self proving affidavit? Do you have a revocable trust?

In Florida probate litigation, who is an “interested person”?What can an interested person do? Can an interested person petition to reopen an estate?

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?

Probate Litigation Attorney John Pankauski explains everything you need to know about guardianship cases in Florida, specifically adult guardianship. 5 Scary Things About Florida Guardianships I. Introduction II. What is a guardianship for an adult? III. Why is a guardianship needed? IV. What laws govern a Florida guardianship? V. Guardianship terms, teams and the players – POA – Your Trustee of your Revocable Trust – Health Care Decision maker i. Health Care Advanced Direction ii. Health Care Proxy iii. Medical Durable Power of Attorney iv. DNR v. Living Will – Spouse – Interested persons: who has a say in my guardianship? – The Judge VI. 5 Scary Things – We just took away your right to make decisions – We just took control over all your property – We are putting you on a budget – Your spouse and kids just spent your money fighting in guardianship court – We are ignoring your Florida estate plan VII. Conclusion

When adult children sue their step mom for breach of fiduciary duty You know every week I get phone calls from trust beneficiaries who want to engage us for trust litigation. If you want to read more about trust litigation in Florida before you call a lawyer, before you launch a lawsuit, consider reading a very specific case. The 4th District Court of Appeal from 2014. Why? It has a very common factual scenario that may be applicable to your case. A father creates a revocable trust and names his spouse as the successor trustee. His children from a prior relationship sue their step mom, the successor trustee for breach of fiduciary duty. Sound familiar? It probably does. Lawyers at our law firm get calls every week from family members, surviving spouses second spouses, children, adult children and beneficiaries of trust documents who want to sue their trustee. And from trustees who need a tough litigation law firm to defend them from a lawsuit. If you want to get a better picture of what that looks like and get some more background, consider reading Menassian case vs Rachins. This opinion was issued December 3rd, 2014, it’s out of Broward County but its a 4th District Court of Appeal Opinion. The citation is 152 Southern 3rds 719, 2014 case, it will give you a little bit more of a background of a trust lawsuit involving adult children suing a trustee who is their step mom for breach of fiduciary duty.

What can you do if a family member is trying to steal your inheritance? Can you sue a sibling for tortious interference of your Florida inheritance if your sibling convinced your dad to write you out of his Florida will? What is tortious interference? How do you know if you have a good case? You should read Slosberg v. Giller and consult with an experience probate litigation lawyer.

Many Florida estate planning attorneys focus on wills and living trusts. But, to some Florida clients, having the right health care documents in place if you are incompetent or in a persistent vegetative state, may be more important.  Do you NOT want to be maintained on life support? Do you want a Do Not Resuscitate Order?

What is tortious interference? What is tortious interference with an expectancy? What if someone has “messed” with my Florida trust? What if my evil step-parent has amended an Orlando trust to disinherit me? Can I file a petition against the wrongdoer for tortious interference with an expectancy? How can a probate lawyer help me to successfully win a trial on tortious interference with an expectancy in Orlando or West Palm Beach?