For some reason, Florida has had more than its fair share of interesting adoption questions. Remember the man that tried to adopt his girlfriend! (Adoption Series Part 2, June 13, 2014. Other prior blogs on adoption include: How does an adopted person inherit? (Adult Adoption Series Part 1, May 30, 2014), Part 3(August 22, 2014), “Virtual” Adoption-No Court Required! (Adoption Series Part 4, September 8, 2014), Can Adoptee Challenge the Legality of Her Own Adoption in Order to Inherit from Her Biological Parent? (Adoption Series Part 5, May 15, 2015).
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In 2013 the Florida Legislature enacted Fl. Stat. 736.202 to clarify when Florida courts have jurisdiction to hear disputes involving trusts. Lawyers refer to this type of statute as establishing “long arm” jurisdiction. The reason will become apparent.
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In previous posts, we addressed digital assets and how difficult it might be for fiduciaries (personal representatives or trustees) of an estate to access the digital assets of a deceased loved one, specifically their Facebook account and assets such as email accounts. Although we had hopes that the Florida legislature would pass a bill on the subject early last year (Senate Bill 102), it unfortunately died on May 1. The Legislature, however, was determined to pass a bill on the subject, and we can now say that it has!
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It turns out that a billionaire artist you've likely never heard of has considerable influence over the administration of your estate. His name is Robert Rauschenberg. And while he's nowhere near as well known as Warhol or van Gogh, he has their level of influence. How? Trustee fees, that’s how.
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You may not be familiar with the Renunciation Rule. It often comes up in litigation over trusts, and it is a rule that all beneficiaries and trustees should be familiar with. Renunciation in this context requires that a person renounce (or refuse to take) any interest in a trust and give back any contested assets he has already received if he wants to argue that the trust is invalid. The old saying “you can’t have your cake and eat it too” applies here. You can’t argue that the trust should not be followed and still benefit from it by receiving assets.
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Do you own property in Georgia? North Carolina? Anywhere but Florida? Beware of the extra probate expense of owning real property in multiple states.
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Revocable Living Trusts are planned with the intention of keeping the family out of court. If this intent fails, courts have alarming powers to interfere with your plan. The recent case of Rene v. Sykes-Kennedy illustrates this point.
Continue Reading...When working with clients who have minor children, we spend a lot of time discussing the kids: their individual personalities, the values the clients are trying to instill, and concerns for their future. We do our best to craft an estate plan that will secure the children’s financial future. This usually involves planning both from a financial perspective (making sure there is enough money for future expenses, especially if something happened to the clients), with the help of the clients’ financial advisors, and from a legal standpoint (ensuring the children will have access to any money when and how the clients judge best).
Continue Reading...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.
Continue Reading...One of the most important decisions we ask our clients to make is who they want to take over as successor trustee of their trust after the client’s disability or death. Many of our recommendations for this position are obvious; a trustee must be willing to take on the responsibility, should be a person or institution that the client trusts wholeheartedly, andideally has some relevant experience or knowledge. After (and sometimes despite) hearing this advice, most of our clients want to name family members, usually their spouse or adult children, as their successor trustees.
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