Essentially, a Will caveat is an objection to a Will. A Will caveat provides an individual with the ability to present evidence that some aspect of a Will makes it legally invalid. Once the caveat is filed, this individual must be allowed to present evidence. If the individual who files the caveat presents information that proves the decedent was not competent or lacked the capacity to make a Will at the time the Will was executed, the Will may be voided. The Will also may be voided if an individual is able to provide information proving that someone was exerting undue influence of the decedent at the time the Will was executed.
A voluntary guardianship may be established for a competent adult if they feel that they are incapable of managing their own estate due to age or physical limitation and voluntarily petition for this appointment. To appoint a voluntary guardian, the individual seeking this form of guardianship must file a petition with the court in order for a voluntary guardian to be designated. A voluntary guardianship remains valid and in effect until the death or incapacity of the petitioner unless it is subsequently revoked by the ward. Individuals may choose to appoint a guardian voluntarily if they no longer want to shoulder the responsibility of managing their own affairs or fear that an illness or disability will prevent them from doing so effectively.
In order to correct a death certificate, you must submit a request to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Florida. This request must include the following documents: an Application For Amendment To Florida Death Record (DH524), the Affidavit Of Amendment To Certificate Of Death (DH433) and documentary evidence where required. While the Affidavit can be used to correct a range of minor errors, corrections that require additional documentary evidence include: name of deceased (other than a misspelling), date of birth (changed more than three months), citizenship from alien to U.S. citizen and name(s) of parents (other than misspelling).
Suggested source of documentary evidence include: a birth certificate, school record, census record, social security record, passport, driver’s license, employment record, insurance record, medical treatment record and a voting registration record.
If you need assistance or have further inquiries regarding this matter, visit the Bureau of Vital statistics website for Florida.
As of May 2017, the Florida Senate has voted to put a proposal on next year’s ballot that will increase the Florida homestead property tax exemption from its current value of $50,000 to a value of $75,000. This exemption applies to homesteads worth $100,000 or more and this new bill will give Florida voters the opportunity to lower property taxes. According to estimates regarding the effect of this legislation, it has the potential to save 4.3 million Florida residents a total of $644 million and the average home owner would save approximately $170 annually.
If 60% of voters approve this legislation, this new exemption rate will take effect on the first of January in 2019. Though this bill has its fair share of opponents and supporters, it will now be up to Florida voters to decide if cutting property taxes is the right decision for the state.
The Florida homestead exemption is an asset protection tool implemented to protect homestead property. Your Florida homestead will be designated to procure certain exemptions from real estate taxes.
In order for you home to be considered your “homestead” in Florida, you must have a legal title to the home, the home must be your permanent residence and you must apply for the homestead exemption at the property appraiser’s office in the county where your home is located. A second home or property cannot be considered a homestead in Florida and properties that are titled in the name of irrevocable trusts, limited liability corporation companies, corporations or partnerships are also unable to qualify as homestead properties. However, property owned by a living trust or a land trust may qualify as homestead property in certain situations.
Currently, the Florida homestead exemption reduces the value of a home for assessment of property taxes by $50,000 for homes that are worth $100,000 or more. This means that, if a home is worth $100,000, it will be taxed as if it is only worth $50,000.
May has been designated as National Elder Law Month by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Elder Law is a broad field of legal practice that encompasses important life processes including, but not limited to: Estate Planning, Medicaid, Tax Law, Probate Administration and Asset Protection Planning. We would like to thank the talented attorneys at Bach & Jacobs for their commitment to providing service of the utmost quality in the field of Elder Law as well as the clients that make their jobs possible. Happy National Elder Law Month!
For assistance regarding any Elder Law needs, contact our offices at 941- 906-1231 to schedule an appointment with one our attorneys.
Probate is defined as the process of proving a Will is valid in court and thereafter administering the estate of the decedent according to the terms of their Will. In Florida, there are two main types of probate: Summary Administration and Formal Administration. In an effort to make the probate process less complex and easier to understand, this blog will break down these two forms of probate.
- Summary Administration: Summary Administration is often the easiest and least expensive type of probate, but it can only be utilized when an individual’s estate is worth less than $75,000 and there are no unpaid creditors of the decedent. Additionally, if the decedent has been dead for at least two years at the time the probate process is started, then Summary Administration may be employed. If the decedent died with a Will, it will be admitted by the court if it is valid. If the decedent died without having created a Will, the process of intestate succession will apply.
- Formal Administration: Formal Administration involves close supervision by the court of the collection and distribution of the assets in the decedent’s estate and the payment of the decedent’s creditors. Once a probate attorney has been hired and the official filings have been made to the court, a judge will issue letters of administration (an order that authorizes a Personal Representative to act on behalf of an individual’s estate), then the process may begin. Administration of the estate may involve: notifying creditors, collecting assets, collecting debts, identifying the rights of beneficiaries, maintaining assets, processing and paying creditor claims and preparing objections to a claim. When this process is complete, the hired probate attorney will file a petition with the court to close the Estate. Once the estate has officially been closed, the probate process is over.
If an individual dies intestate, it means that they passed away without having created a Will or estate plan. When someone dies without a Will or estate plan, their property passes into “intestate succession”. This means that state law determines who will get the assets of that person’s estate, as there is no Will to decide what should go to whom. In Florida, if you have children but no spouse, your children will inherit everything. If, on the other hand, you have a spouse but do not have children, your spouse will inherit everything. If you have both a spouse and children by that spouse and your spouse has no other descendants, your spouse will inherit everything. If you have a spouse and descendants from you and that spouse, but the spouse has descendants from another relationship, your spouse will inherit half of your intestate property and your children will inherit the other half. If you have a spouse and descendants from you and someone other than that spouse, the same principle applies and your spouse will inherit half of your intestate property while your descendants will inherit the other half. If you die without a spouse or descendants, your parents inherit everything. If you die with siblings but no spouse, descendants or parents, your siblings inherit everything. If you do not leave a Will or estate plan, then your estate will become property of the state only if you do not have a spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces or nephews, aunts or uncles, cousins, or great aunts or uncles at the time of your death.
Typically, adopted children have the same legal right to inherit assets from their adoptive parents as biological children do. When a child is adopted, their legal ties to their biological parents are severed. This means that they have inheritance rights with their adoptive parents, but not with their birth parents.
Adopted children have the right to be included in general references to “my children” in a Will. They may also have the right to receive property if they are accidentally or unintentionally left out of a Will. For example, if a Will had not been updates since before the adoption of a child, then that adopted child still has rights to a certain portion of the estate. An adopted child also has the right to receive property in intestate succession, meaning that, if a child’s adoptive parents die without a Will, then the child has the same right to receive a certain portion of the adoptive parents’ property as a biological child would.
Just like with a biological child, you can disinherit an adopted child from your Will, but if you choose to do so you should state this explicitly.
To learn more about this matter, contact our office at 941-906-1231 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
An incentive trust is a trust designed to encourage or discourage the occurrence of certain behaviors in the trust’s beneficiaries by using the distributions of the trust as an incentive. An incentive trusts holds and manages assets for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the trust, but it is different than any other type of trust in that it uses the trust’s assets to award beneficiaries for achieving desired goals. This type of trust is often used by parents or grandparents to pass on wealth to their children or grandchildren while dually encouraging them to be personally responsible and reach important milestones in their lives. This type of trust can also lay-out specific instructions regarding how the money within the trust can be distributed and can employ certain techniques that help ensure the beneficiaries of the trust will have financial independence beyond what the trust has given them. Advantages of incentive trusts include implementing age restrictions regarding when the beneficiaries can receive the assets within the trust, encouraging educational achievement, discouraging illegal or destructive behaviors and motivating positive behaviors.
If you have any further inquiries regarding this matter, please contact our office at: 941-906-1231 to schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys.
