Wills are a technicality ridden document, with various signatures and notary blocks that must all be executed properly. Often clients of a probate attorney are very diligent in reading what they sign but often they just assume that the witnesses will sign their parts properly. This is a fatal mistake as a recent case decided in February of this year shows. The lesson is simple, if one of your witnesses messes up its your inheritance that’s at stake – measure twice, cut once.
The recent death of Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks made the news and now his estate is making the news but not for being a great baseball player or MLB standout. Anyone involved in financial exploitation, will contests, and estate disputes may want to read more about this recent case of a caretaker accused of getting a will signed just before death, and in the midst of Banks’ dementia.
Marriage alters inheritance, social security benefits, and so many other important rights so do not mistake co-habitation for a “common law marriage” it could cost you! If you are not married to your long term partner and have commingled funds and accumulated assets you risk losing those assets to their heirs in intestacy if you lack a will. When you are married your spouse has a vested right in your estate that a long-term partner simply does not have as a matter of law. In fact the idea that long term cohabitation forms a legal marriage is largely a misnomer.
If you die without a will in Florida, your assets will go to your closest relatives under state “intestate succession” laws. While a last will and testament serves as your individual instructions to the probate court, intestate rules are the gap fillers or default rules. In other words if your will is silent to an area or you have no will these are the rules that the Court will utilize.
In Florida being a Personal Representative for an estate obligates you to pay off all taxes owed. Few people realize this burden they are assuming when they take on a Personal Representative position for a friend of loved one. This is not a Florida thing at all actually, its federal law. See 31 U.S.C. §3713(b) and IRS Manual 5.17.13.8 (10-16-2007).
I was reading an article in the New York Times about the Godfather of Soul James Brown and the estate dispute that has been broiling for almost nine years now. Whats interesting about the Brown Estate is how ordered it was, and yet how disputes still embroiled. There is a lot that can be taken away from this and many lessons to be learned for those planning an estate in Florida. Here are just some observations from a Palm Beach Probate litigator.
The Measles outbreak is in the news non-stop, with the rates of people affected climbing everyday. As a probate attorney this recent hysteria reminds of something: estate planning. Does estate planning really have anything to do with vaccines? Here is some food for thought:
In Florida when someone dies a Personal Representative is named (in other states this is called an Executor) and that person is responsible for the bulk of the administration responsibilities. The Probate Courts will also establish an Estate, which holds that person’s real estate and personal property until the proper beneficiary can be determined under the law of the State. What’s important to remember as a potential beneficiary is that you have a right to sue if your interests are not maintained. Specifically, the Personal Representative owes a fiduciary duty to both the heirs and creditors of the estate.
There are numerous ways to contest a will. Contesting a will is a legal challenge that seeks to void the document. One reason a Florida Probate Court will invalidate a will is under the guise that it is a product of an “insane delusion.” This can be viewed in a similar light to the defense of temporary insanity in criminal cases.
Brian Williams, until recently, the much-respected anchor of the NBC Nightly News, is now under fire and criticism for “mis-describing” an incident which did not take place. Brian Williams claimed that he was in a helicopter which was hit by gunfire while covering the IRAQ war. But that didn’t happen. Brian Williams has more in common with heirs to a will contest or probate lawsuit than he realizes.