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Tagged: Jacksonville probate attorney

Oh! Those Dangerous Instrumentalities: The Estate Owned Automobile

November 7, 2017Jeffrey A. Cramer Areas of Practice, Estate Owned Automobiles, Estate Planning, General Law, Probate, Probate Estate Car Accident, Estate Owned Automobile, Estate Planning Attorney, inheritance, Jacksonville probate attorney, personal representative, probate estate
Car

One of our first admonitions to clients seeking to become appointed personal representative of a decedent’s estate and is to secure all automobiles and not let anyone drive them.  Under Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine, the estate can be held vicariously liable if someone drives the car and injures others in an accident.  Once a person has been appointed personal representative and the probate case opened, the personal representative has personal responsibility for those automobiles.

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Book Review: A Perfectly Good Family

February 14, 2017Jeffrey A. Cramer Areas of Practice, Estate Planning, Probate, Trusts, Wills Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, inheritance, Jacksonville Estate Planning, Jacksonville probate attorney, Last Will, Rivalries, siblings, trust
A Perfectly Good Family

Taking the proverbial busman’s holiday, I recently read the novel “A Perfectly Good Family,” by Lionel Shriver.  The book was about what happens when three siblings inherit the family “mansion” in Raleigh, North Carolina, after the death of their parents.  The father was a “great man” character, a judge and civil rights advocate, the mother was the typical woman behind the man of her era, the oldest son was a rebel and bully, the youngest son was the obedient one who never left home and took care of the mother during her last illness; and the middle daughter (and narrator) shared characteristics of each of her brothers.

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Whose Property is it Anyway?

January 10, 2017Jeffrey A. Cramer Areas of Practice, Estate Planning, General Law, Probate, Trusts, Wills Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, Florida trust lawyer, Florida will lawyer, inheritance, Jacksonville Estate Planning, Jacksonville probate attorney, Jeweler, Jewelry, Jointly Owned Property, Probate, probate attorney, Rolex Watches
rolex

Here is a new twist to follow our recent series titled “Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law, Part 1”, “Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law, Part 2”, and “Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law, Part 3”. A case illustrating the difficulties in determining jointly owned versus individually property is the Connell case. In that case, the decedent was an elderly retired jeweler who liked expensive jewelry. While shopping with his wife, (a woman he married only eleven (11) months prior to his death), Mr. Connell bought a $60,000.00 men’s Rolex watch and a $20,000.00 men’s diamond ring. On both occasions he used funds from a checking account titled jointly with his wife; his wife knew of these purchases and did not object. Mr. Connell wore the watch and ring every day. Shortly before his death, he was hospitalized and gave the watch and ring to his wife for safekeeping. She put them in her purse. After Connell’s death, his son/personal representative asked the wife to return the watch and ring. She refused and the lawsuit ensued.

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Paternity Claims in Probate

September 27, 2016Jeffrey A. Cramer Areas of Practice, Estate Planning, General Law, Probate Estate Planning, Florida Estate Plannning, Jacksonville estate planning attorney, Jacksonville estate planning lawyer, Jacksonville probate attorney, paternity, paternity probate, Probate, probate attorney, probate lawyer
Paternity Determination

If a man dies in Florida without having his own will or trust prepared, he is considered to have died intestate. In other words, his estate will be distributed according to the “will” the state wrote for him. Under the state’s will, any children he had while legally married are automatically considered to be his legal heirs. But what if he fathered a child out of wedlock? Children born out of wedlock must file a paternity action to have themselves legally declared a “child” of the decedent, if they want to share in the estate. What if they wait until after the alleged father’s death to make a claim? Well, if they are adults now, it likely is too late.

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PRECATORY LANGUAGE: THE DANGER OF UNLIMITED DISCRETION

August 11, 2014Jeffrey A. Cramer Estate Planning, Newsletter, Trusts, Wills assets, beneficiary, disputes between heirs, Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, estate planning lawyer, Florida estate planning, Florida estate planning lawyer, Florida homestead, Florida probate attorney, Florida trust lawyer, Florida will lawyer, gift, homestead property, inherit, inheritance, Jacksonville Estate Planning, Jacksonville estate planning attorney, Jacksonville estate planning lawyer, Jacksonville probate attorney, Jacksonville trust, Jacksonville trust lawyer, Jacksonville will, Jacksonville will lawyer, Last Will, personal representative, precatory language, probate attorney in Jacksonville, probate estate, probate lawyer, probate lawyer in Jacksonville, revocable living trust, will challenge, will contest

Wording in a will or trust which allows a named person to decide where your property and money should go after your death (instead of you making that decision ahead of time) is called “precatory” language.  An example is the recent Florida case of Cody v. Cody, where Earler Martin’s will left his home, and the rest of his estate, to one of his three stepsons, “to divide between [himself and his brothers], as he sees fit and proper.”  Earler’s wish was probably that the inheriting stepson, Buford, divide up the home and other property equally between himself and his brothers.  However, the words he chose to express that desire defeated that intent.

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(ADULT) ADOPTION SERIES – PART 2: MAN TRIES TO ADOPT HIS GIRLFRIEND!

June 13, 2014August 22, 2014Jeffrey A. Cramer Estate Planning, Newsletter, Trusts Adoption, adult adoption, asset protection, beneficiary, children beneficiaries, Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, estate planning lawyer, Florida, Florida estate planning, Florida estate planning lawyer, Florida trust lawyer, Florida will lawyer, inherit, inheritance, Jacksonville Estate Planning, Jacksonville estate planning attorney, Jacksonville estate planning lawyer, Jacksonville probate attorney, Jacksonville trust, Jacksonville trust lawyer, Jacksonville will, Jacksonville will lawyer, kids, litigation, minors

In the first part of this series, we discussed how failing to address the issue of adult adoption in your estate plan can cause unnecessary litigation after your death, even when there is nothing sinister about the adoption.  In this article, we will discuss what happened to a man who attempted to use adult adoption to preserve his lavish lifestyle at the expense of his biological children.

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FAILURE TO UPDATE YOUR ESTATE PLAN: THE UNEXPECTED BLESSING

May 16, 2014Jeffrey A. Cramer Estate Planning, Newsletter, Probate, Trusts, Wills Adoption, beneficiary, child, children, children beneficiaries, estate, Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, estate planning lawyer, Florida, Florida estate planning, Florida estate planning lawyer, Florida Estate Plannning, Jacksonville, Jacksonville estate planning attorney, Jacksonville estate planning lawyer, Jacksonville probate attorney, Jacksonville trust, Jacksonville trust lawyer, Jacksonville will, Jacksonville will lawyer, Jacksonville will lawyer; Jacksonville trust lawyer, Keywords: estate planning, Keywords: probate, kids, New Florida resident, Newsletter, Probate, probate attorney in Jacksonville, probate estate, probate lawyer, probate lawyer in Jacksonville, Trusts

Sometimes blessings occur when we least expect them, but a lack of planning for such blessings can have unpleasant results. In the recent case of Maher v. Iglikova, a Florida court dealt with the ramifications of an unexpected blessing: the discovery of a previously unknown child.

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Estate Administration: Another Do-It-Yourself Minefield

August 16, 2013Jeffrey A. Cramer Estate Planning, Probate, Trusts, Wills avoid probate, Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, estate planning lawyer, executor, executrix, Florida estate planning, Florida estate planning lawyer, Florida Estate Plannning, Florida probate attorney, Florida trust lawyer, Florida will lawyer, Jacksonville Estate Planning, Jacksonville estate planning attorney, Jacksonville estate planning lawyer, Jacksonville probate attorney, Jacksonville trust, Jacksonville trust lawyer, Jacksonville will, Jacksonville will lawyer, Keywords: estate planning, Keywords: probate, Last Will, living trust, Probate, probate attorney in Jacksonville, probate estate, probate lawyer, probate lawyer in Jacksonville, testate, trustee, Wills

Hopefully our faithful readers all know by now that there are many hazards to do-it-yourself estate plans.  What you may not know is that trying to administer your loved one’s estate without legal help is just as treacherous.  It is a great honor to be named as a loved one’s personal representative (executor) or trustee, but these roles come with great responsibility and many legal duties.

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ANOTHER ESTATE PLANNING HORROR STORY FROM THE REAL WORLD – SECOND MARRIAGE MISTAKE

April 1, 2013April 4, 2013Jeffrey A. Cramer Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills children, divorce, Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, estate planning lawyer, Florida estate planning, Florida probate attorney, Florida trust lawyer, Florida will lawyer, inheritance, Jacksonville Estate Planning, Jacksonville probate attorney, Jacksonville trust, Jacksonville trust lawyer, Jacksonville will, Jacksonville will lawyer, Keywords: estate planning, second marriage; divorce, validity of will, Wills

We recently had a client inquire about challenging his stepmother’s will.  Our first thought, and perhaps yours, was that the desire to challenge came from a history of animosity between the client and his stepparent, something we see all too frequently.  However, in this case, the client was actually fond of his stepmother – that is, until she died with a will that left all of his father’s assets, including the family home, to her children.

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WHY SHOULD I PLAN NOW THAT I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT PAYING AN ESTATE TAX?

January 28, 2013Jeffrey A. Cramer Estate Planning, Estate Tax Law assets, disability planning, Elder Law, elder law attorney, estate, Estate Planning, Estate Planning Attorney, estate tax, executed by non-resident of Florida, financial plan, Florida estate planning, Florida Estate Plannning, Jacksonville Estate Planning, Jacksonville probate attorney, Jacksonville will

 

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