If ownership of a business asset is contested in an estate, the answer to “who gets it?” might be found in the controlling contract, not the decedent’s will or trust. This key point is often overlooked. For example, in the Blechman case there was a dispute over ownership of the decedent’s 1/2 interest in an LLC. In that case the LLC operating agreement contained the following clause: … in the event of a death of…

Increasing numbers of people have connections with one country, but live and work in another, frequently owning property or investments in several countries. At the center of this global trend sits Florida, a magnet for foreign investors and a hub of international banking, finance and professional services. Not surprisingly, Florida probate attorneys often find themselves drawn into international estate cases, be it because the decedent was hiding assets in this state, or some other…

F.S. 732.5165 tells us that a will (or any party of it) procured by undue influence is void. And F.S. 733.107(1) tells us the person challenging a will on undue influence grounds (or any other basis) bears the initial burden of proof. But what if direct evidence of the undue influence is impossible to find? That, in fact, is the norm. So is undue influence the perfect crime? Nope. Florida law permits contestants to…

Florida is a magnet for people and foreign capital. Last year alone international home buyers poured $15.6 billion into our state’s economy. Florida’s also the first choice for relocating retirees within the U.S., and the single largest recipient of all international migration to the U.S. In Malleiro v. Mori, the 3d DCA observed that the “people of Florida benefit from the way many citizens of distant states and countries visit, invest, and often…

Attorneys faced with elderly clients sliding into incapacity grapple with daunting ethical challenges. For family members helplessly watching from the sidelines as an elderly parent’s financially exploited, the emotional toll is way worse. And these are not isolated incidents. According to AARP, “in 2017 alone, reports of suspicious financial activity involving older folks totaled $1.7 billion. There were 63,500 reports that year, four times as many as in 2013, according to the CFPB,…

I recently spoke on Florida’s statutory authorization of electronic wills and it got me thinking once again about how consequential — or not — this legislation really is. Spoiler alert: as a practical matter, I think it was much ado about an interesting idea that’s likely to see very little real world application. Backstory: In 2017, the Florida Senate voted unanimously to authorize electronic wills. Was that the end of the story? Nope. Former Gov.…

Ever wonder why we don’t spend much time thinking about the income tax consequences of an inheritance? Well, there’s a simple reason for that. According to IRC § 102(a), “the value of property acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or inheritance” is excluded from gross income, which means it’s not subject to income tax. On the other hand, IRC § 102(b) tells us the income I receive on inherited property (as opposed to the underlying…