When Florida and Palm Beach County residents create their estate plan, they often instinctively choose a close friend or family member as their estate’s personal representative. Your personal representative has a great responsibility and likely is not familiar with the role you have asked them to play. Although the personal…
Probate is a legal process in which the validity and authenticity of a will is verified. The goal of probate is to distribute the deceased person’s estate according to the terms of their will. In Florida, there are three primary types of probate administration: Formal administration Summary administration Disposition without…
Florida is not a community property state. Florida is, however, a recipient of domestic and foreign migration. Often, those that relocate to Florida come from community property states, or countries with property rights akin to community property states that require due consideration. In addition, even if the married couple that…
No contest clauses in Florida wills are unenforceable. Frequently, no contest clauses are referred to as in terrorem clauses. Historically, many lawyers would draft wills with no contest clauses in order to discourage individuals from challenging the wills. A typical no contest clause would state that if a beneficiary under…
Under Florida law there is no requirement to probate a will. When determining whether or not to probate a will it is important to consider the following: What assets must be transferred out of the Decedent’s name? If there are no probate assets there would be no reason to probate…
