Two critical legal arrangements in estate planning are wills and trusts. Both tools allow you to distribute your assets to heirs after you pass. Though they have similar goals, there are important differences between them. These differences provide the key to why you...
When planning your estate, you may wish to help your executor and heirs avoid the probate process. Probate, the legal term for court supervision of estate asset distribution, can sometimes be expensive and time-consuming. Explore the probate process in Florida and...
The probate process can be daunting for a host of reasons, and this is especially true for those who have been given the responsibility of managing a loved one’s estate plan after they pass away. Sometimes, people do not realize all of the obligations that come with...
A Florida resident who is named as the executor of a decedent's will may be apprehensive about the responsibilities that accompany that position. The executor needs to make sure the desires of the deceased person are fulfilled and the remaining financial obligations...
Florida residents may be interested to learn that on March 30, a probate judge ordered attorneys to take eight weeks to sort out issues related to money and property awarded to his widow and three adult children. Attorneys for Williams' third wife say that the...
Some residents of Florida may be concerned about what will become of their assets after their death. Although this can be a difficult question for some families to consider, doing so responsibly can help to mitigate the chance of further complications for one's...
Sometimes, situations arise in which a decedent who is not a resident of Florida passes away, and his or her estate owns assets in Florida. In order to allow for the inclusion of those Florida assets in the decedent's estate, the law allows for ancillary...
When an estate enters probate, the court will appoint a personal representative to manage the assets. If the representative is an individual, that person must either be a Florida resident or a close relative of the decedent. A qualified and authorized bank or savings...
Among the primary reasons for probate in Florida is the satisfaction of the debts of the decedent. The personal representative of the estate is required to provide notice of probate to any reasonably ascertainable or known creditors. Upon notice, creditors typically...
Does credit card debt get handed down when a person dies? The good news is that debt is generally not inherited the same way that a person's assets are when he or she passes away. This means that the son or daughter of someone who has just passed on should not worry...
