Don’t Keep Your Original Will in a Safe Deposit Box

April 25, 2019Jeffrey A. Cramer Estate Planning, Probate, Wills Probate, Safe Deposit Box, will

Don't keep your Will in a Safe Deposit Box! Never! Please! This may seem like a good idea to keep the Will safe, but let me assure you, it is not. In an estate where the family was never informed of the Will’s location, we recently had to get into one to retrieve the ORIGINAL Will, which the state of Florida requires be filed. A copy of the Will is not sufficient. We did not have a key, so we had to get the court to order our entrance and then drill, yes DRILL, into it to get it opened. This caused several weeks of delay and thousands of dollars of additional costs to the family because of this blunder. Go to the bank now and remove yours... and more importantly, tell the person you’ve appointed to be your Personal Representative exactly where you are keeping it!

Florida Guardianship – How is a Person Determined to be Incapacitated?

January 23, 2019Clayton Miller Areas of Practice, Guardianship florida courts, Guardianship, incapacity

In Florida, any adult can file a petition in state court to determine if another person is incapacitated. If a person is determined to be incapacitated, a guardian will be appointed by the court. People often ask us how the court determines that a person is incapacitated. The process is explained in Florida Statute Section 744.331. 744.331(3)(a) states the following, in pertinent part:

Can I disinherit my spouse in Florida?

January 14, 2019January 15, 2019Clayton Miller Estate Planning Disinherit, Florida, spouse

The short answer is no. A surviving spouse is entitled to a portion of a deceased spouse’s estate even if the deceased has a valid will or trust leaving nothing to the spouse (Florida Statute 732.201). A surviving spouse is entitled to what is known as an “elective share” of the deceased’s estate. A surviving spouse may choose to inherit the “elective share” of the estate. The “elective share” is equal to 30% of the “elective estate.”

Probate Avoidance 101

January 3, 2019January 15, 2019Clayton Miller Probate, Trusts

As many of you may know, the probate process is public and can be costly. That being said, there are a few ways in which one can plan to avoid probate. Here are a few of the most common:

Three Common Misconceptions Regarding Probate in Florida

January 2, 2019Clayton Miller Probate Probate

In my experience at the Cramer Law Center, probate is one of the most misunderstood areas of the law among clients who seek our assistance. Three common misconceptions are:

How Much Does Probate Cost in Florida?

December 12, 2018January 2, 2019Clayton Miller Probate

Like many legal questions, the answer is: it depends. However, in Florida, there is a guide to what attorney’s fees may be in a probate case. It is a sliding scale based on the size of the probate estate and can be found in Florida Statutes Section 733.6171, which states the following:

What Happens if I Die Without a Will in Florida?

December 12, 2018December 13, 2018Clayton Miller Probate, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

If you were to die without a Will or Trust in Florida, you will be considered to have died “intestate.” Your “intestate estate” – i.e. any asset you own that has not been effectively disposed of or transferred to a beneficiary – will be distributed according to Florida intestate succession law.

How to Avoid Guardianship

November 19, 2018March 25, 2019Jeffrey A. Cramer Durable Power of Attorney, Estate Planning, Guardianship Designation of Preneed Guardian, DPOA, Dsignation of Healthcare Surrogate, family, Guardianship, Preneed Guardian

Our last newsletter highlighted a guardianship horror story: https://cramerlawcenter.com/areas-of-practice/estate-planning/more-guardianship-abuses/. So, how do you avoid Kise’s fate?

More Guardianship Abuses

November 5, 2018Jeffrey A. Cramer Elder Abuse, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Scams on the Elderly AARP, Abuse, Guardianship

AARP Magazine recently published a lengthy article on a contentious guardianship. If you would like to read the entire article, it can be found here: https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/info-2018/court-ordered-guardianship-separates-family.html. This newsletter will hit some highlights.

Beware of Financial Bureaucrats!

October 23, 2018Jeffrey A. Cramer Estate Planning, Trusts Edward Jones, Financial Bureaucrats, fine print, Merrill Lynch, money, Raymond James, trust

Too often we encounter skeptics who ask why they would need to have their estate plan reviewed annually, as we do in our LifeLegacy Program. “What could possibly change?” they ask. “Lots,” we answer. Here is just one example of something that has come up that has unintended consequences that are detrimental to most living trust plans.