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Florida Estates and Donor Advised Funds: why did mom and dad leave money to charity?

Uncategorized Oct 30, 2013

Florida estates may encounter charitable gifts or charitable devises (distributions) under a Florida will or revocable trust.   Some charitable gifts are outright (“To the Pankauski Foundation, I leave $1,000,000”).  Others are held in donor advised funds.  According to Fidelity Investment’s Fidelity Charitable Giving Report, total charitable giving in 2011 alone was close to $300 Billion !   Much of that charitable giving was in donor advised funds.  

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Mom and Dad Gave Their Money Away?: a look at the mental capacity to make a gift in Florida

Uncategorized Oct 29, 2013

Do you wonder where all the money in your mom or dad’s estate went to?  Are you involved in a probate matter in Palm Beach County, Florida?  Many times, children and heirs believe that mom or dad died owning a lot more assets, or simply died much richer than the estate inventory or accounting shows.  So, heirs and children sometimes wonder :  where’s all the money?  When the heirs or children to a Florida probate begin to participate in the estate administration process in Florida, they may learn that lifetime gifts were made by mom or dad.

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Where’s the Money?: assets and inventories in Florida estates

Uncategorized Oct 28, 2013

Where’s all of mom’s money ?  I thought dad died with a lot more.   Florida probate lawyers from West Palm Beach to Coral Springs here these comments all the time they are involved with a Palm Beach estate or a Broward County probate.  Many times heirs, beneficiaries and children wonder where their parents’ assets, bank accounts, stocks and bonds, and cash went to.

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Investing Florida Estate Assets in A “Snail Economy”: what’s a prudent Florida executor to do?

Uncategorized Oct 28, 2013

Are you concerned about how assets and property in a Florida estate are being invested?   Are you a beneficiary or heir or family member to a Florida estate which is supposed to give you your inheritance?  Or maybe you are the Florida executor, the Florida personal representative of the Florida probate and want to know how to invest.  I’m sure that your Florida probate lawyer has informed you about how an estate in Florida is administered. 

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Florida Guardianship Wars: who pays your Florida lawyer fees?

Uncategorized Oct 27, 2013

For good or for ill, the number of Florida guardianships which are contested or litigated in Palm Beach County, Florida and Broward County, Florida are exploding. Yes, Florida guardianship trials are increasing.  Probate lawsuits over who will take care of someone, who will make someone’s most personal decisions, and who will control one’s property, are increasing.  Florida guardianships are not just handling issues of who should make decisions over someone’s health, personal rights and property, but probate courts and guardianship courts from Palm Beach Gardens to Ft. Lauderdale are now judging the “fights” between family members, heirs and advisors of the person who is, may, or may not, be in need of a Florida guardian. 

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How to Win a Probate Fraud Trial: a look at fraud in estates and trusts in Florida

Uncategorized Oct 26, 2013

Do you believe that you are the victim of probate fraud?   Are you involved in probate litigation in Martin County, Palm Beach or Broward County, Florida?  Is there a Florida estate or probate open for a person who died in Florida?  If you are a beneficiary of a Florida trust or estate, or are a creditor of the dead person, you may be getting a number of Palm Beach probate court filed documents or Broward County probate documents which ask you to sign something or agree to something in the estate or probate matter.

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