One of the basic building blocks of modern estate planning in Florida is the “pour over” will/revocable trust combination. Which means it’s extremely common to find yourself administering a probate estate in which your primary — if not only
This is the third and final installment of the 2021 legislative update. It covers a suite of interrelated new statutory changes intended to protect senior citizens from exploitation as well as reporting on Florida’s distinction as the first state in
This is the second installment of the 2021 legislative update. It covers a broad range of bread and butter statutory changes that could have a big impact on our day-to-day practice, but may not get the kind of publicity and
This is the first installment of the 2021 legislative update. It covers two major new additions to our Trust Code intended to bolster Florida’s competitiveness in the high stakes trust business marketplace. Part 2 covers a broad range of bread
Title III of the Helms-Burton Act creates a private cause of action for U.S. nationals whose property was confiscated by the Castro regime before March 12, 1996. However, the Act grants U.S. presidents the authority to suspend these lawsuits if
In 2011 the Florida legislature passed CS/HB 325, which, among other things, amended F.S. 736.0406 to statutorily overturn a line of cases — including MacIntyre v. Wedell, 12 So.3d 273 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) — standing for the proposition
A central issue driving most — if not all — will or trust contests is the question of undue influence. As in, was the will or trust “procured” by undue influence, triggering invalidity under F.S. 732.5165 (for wills) or F.S.
Trusts and estates law as we know it has been around for centuries, and for much of that time litigators who made their living in this niche usually plied their trade in a probate court. That’s still the norm, but
A defining characteristic of inheritance litigation is that the single most important witness — the testator — is dead. And because the testator’s not around anymore to prove to us that he really was acting of his own free will when
The U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Against this backdrop it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that questions about paternity are a common occurrence in probate proceedings, especially when the decedent