Serving Northwest Florida Families For More Than 25 Years
It is a common occurrence for a person who has listed property in a will to end up giving that property away (or selling or otherwise losing the property, for that matter) before their passing. This could occur for a wide variety of reasons, such as:You give the...
It is an enduring myth that Florida courts will prefer the mother over the father in a custody matter, regardless of whether the parents were ever married. Although there may be some perceived bias on the part of some judges who make these determinations, Florida law...
Applying pressure to an elderly person to get him or her to change a will in your favor - whether the actor applying the pressure is a family member, friend, service worker, stranger, or otherwise - is sadly not just the stuff of soap operas and tabloids. It happens...
In a previous post, we talked about the Five Times You Should Update Your Will. One of the life events mentioned is when a person gets divorce. Here, we'll speak more in detail about how your will is affected in Florida when you get a divorce. Speak to a Florida wills...
Even with all of the many strong reasons to create a will, it of course happens that a parent who avoids creating a will sometimes pass on, leaving their family in confusion about what happens next. Below are a few of the basics about who inherits when a parent dies...
Most people understand that a will is critical for all adults. Without one, your assets will likely go into a probate court, an often long and expensive process by which a court will distribute your assets according to state law (and in spite of whatever wishes or...
When a person dies with assets that are not all automatically transferred to beneficiaries via an estate planning tool such as a living trust or life insurance, those assets will generally need to be distributed to the beneficiaries through the probate process. This...
Creating a Florida family trust is a great way to provide for your family members after your passing, and helps avoid the delays, costs, and potential drama of probate court, while also allowing the grantor of a trust to ensure that property goes toward specific...
A common word you might hear around discussion of wills and passings is "intestate." The word can be used as an adjective to describe a situation where a person dies without a valid will in place ("She died intestate") or it might be used to describe the deceased...
If you have a will in place, then you have already taken one of the most important steps to begin your estate planning. But a will that you create when you are younger may not cover all the issues that could arise in later years as the people and property in your life...