Probate is the court-controlled process of validating a will and administering the testator’s estate before apportioning each heir their portion. Usually, the beneficiaries must wait until the entire probate process concludes to get legal ownership of their...
When a loved one dies, someone has to take on the responsibility of handling their estate. This role is known as the executor. It can be daunting, but it's important to understand what it means to be an executor and your responsibilities. The attributes of a good...
People often discover as they’re discussing their estate plan with loved ones that no one wants to inherit their home. Therefore, they often designate that the home be sold and the proceeds returned to their estate for distribution to their beneficiaries. If you’re...
When someone dies, you might think that the hardest part (besides grieving) is organizing any funerary or memorial events. While the ceremonial aspects of honoring a death can take their mental, emotional and financial toll, we often donʻt realize the next set of...
Florida law sets up two methods for estate administration – summary and formal. The circumstances of the estate determine which of these are possible. Typically, people who are handling the estate administration process for a loved one who passed away will want to get...
When a loved one dies, what you probably want to do is take time out to mourn them. Yet, a death in the family can create a lot of extra work, both legal and physical. While the bulk of the legal work should fall to the person named to execute the estate, other family...
When parents own cabins or vacation homes, or other types of second properties, they will often leave them to their heirs jointly. For instance, they may have four children and decide to split the ownership of the cabin between all four equally, so that they all own...
When someone that you love dies, you may potentially inherit assets from their estate. Few belongings will have more personal or financial value than someone's home, and many testators choose to leave their primary residence or investment properties to the people...
Writing a will is the first step in doing estate planning, and it’s something everyone needs to do when they want to specify how their assets will be divided. The will is a final chance to give instructions to heirs and make sure things go smoothly. However, most...
Someone has passed away, and they’ve left a home and vacation property to their heirs in their will. They also listed you as executor. Now, everything has to go through probate. What are your responsibilities for this property until it is conveyed to its new owners?...
