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Elder law in Florida

New Florida Bond and Reporting Requirements for Estate Curators

By Estate Planning, Probate

Recently enacted changes to Florida’s Probate Code effective July 1, 2026, alter the bond and court-reporting requirements due to the curator law. Now, a curator must post a reasonable bond unless the court determines that the bond requirement must be waived. The amount of the bond is set by the court based on responsibilities of the curator and circumstances of the estate. This bond requirement does not include banks and trust companies appointed as curators.

If you are seeking to administer an estate in Florida, contact Bach, Jacobs, & Byrne, P.A. at (941) 906-1231.

August 14, 2026
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How Florida Probate Law Expands Court Authority to Appoint Curators of Estates

By Estate Planning, Probate

Effective July 1, 2026, Florida probate courts are allowed more flexibility when appointing curators. Curators are court-appointed fiduciaries who serve to temporarily protect or manage estate property during the time when no personal representative has been appointed. They may also manage estate property when the personal representative appointed cannot continue serving or must be replaced.

The new law empowers probate courts to:

  • Appoint a curator at any time, with notice to interested persons as the court considers appropriate.
  • Appoint a curator without prior notice when there is a significant risk that estate assets may be wasted, destroyed, concealed, or removed from the court’s jurisdiction and providing notice would delay the appointment.
  • Appoint a curator in other appropriate circumstances when necessary to protect the estate or preserve the rights of the decedent’s heirs.

These 2026 Florida probate law changes give the courts greater flexibility in protecting estates during the probate process, especially during times when immediate action is necessary or prior to a personal representative being appointed. This expansion in authority ensures the security of the estate assets during the progression of the administration of the estate.

If you are seeking to administer an estate in Florida, contact the attorneys at Bach, Jacobs, & Byrne, P.A. at (941) 906-1231.

August 7, 2026
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Florida Expands Disposition Without Administration for certain Intestate Estates

By Estate Planning

There is a separate procedure in cases where the decedent died without a last will & testament and the probate estate is small. This is occasionally referred to as the disposition of intestate property without administration. As of 2026, the amount of nonexempt personal property has been increased from $10,000 to $20,000.

A disposition without administration may be available if the decedent:

  • Died without a valid will (intestate);
  • Left only qualifying exempt personal property and no more than $20,000 in nonexempt personal property;
  • Has been deceased for more than one year; and
  • Does not have a pending probate administration in Florida.

Eligibility may also be determined by the allowable amount of certain preferred funeral expenses as well as reasonable and necessary medical and hospital fees incurred during the last 60 days of the decedent’s final illness, as permitted by Florida law.

Our law firm advises and represents personal representatives and trustees regarding the settlement of trusts and estates. Call the law office of Bach, Jacobs, & Byrne, P.A. at (941) 906-1231 to schedule a consultation.

July 31, 2026
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Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) – Managed Medical Assistance Program

By Asset Protection Planning, Government Benefits, Long-Term Care, Medicaid Planning

Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) is the program where most Medicaid recipients receive their Medicaid services.

There are two different parts that make up the SMMC program:

  • The Managed Medical Assistance (MMA) Program
  • The Long-term Care (LTC) Program

Medicaid recipients who qualify and become enrolled in MMA will receive all health care services (other than long-term care) from a managed care plan. Medicaid recipients who qualify and become enrolled in LTC will receive long-term care services from a Long-term Care managed care plan.

What does the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care program provide?

Medicaid members receive their health care services through a managed care plan. MMA plans cover services such as prescriptions, doctors’ visits and hospital stays.

All MMA plans offer the following health care services:

  • Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner
  • Ambulatory Surgical Center Services
  • Assistive Care Services
  • Behavioral Health Services
  • Birth Center and Licensed Midwife Services
  • Chiropractic Services
  • Dental Services
  • Child Health Check Up
  • Immunizations
  • Emergency Services
  • Emergency Behavioral Health Services
  • Family Planning Services and Supplies
  • Healthy Start Services
  • Hearing Services
  • Home Health Services and Nursing Care
  • Hospice Services
  • Hospital Services
  • Laboratory and Imaging Services
  • Medical Supplies, Equipment, Prostheses and Orthoses
  • Optometric and Vision Services
  • Therapy Services
  • Physician Assistant Services
  • Physician Services
  • Podiatric Services
  • Prescribed Drug Services
  • Renal Dialysis Services
  • Clinic Services
  • Transportation Services

Medicaid applicants will receive a letter once you are approved for Medicaid informing them of the MMA plan the state has enrolled them with. Applicants are allowed to switch to an alternate plan in the first 120 days.

If you have specific questions regarding your Medicaid eligibility, the experienced elder law attorneys of Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A. are here to assist you. Call us at (941)906-1231 to set up a consultation.

June 23, 2020
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Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) – Long-term Care Program

By Asset Protection Planning, Government Benefits, Long-Term Care, Medicaid Planning

In 2011, the Florida Legislature created a new program called the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care (SMMC) program.

There are two different programs that make up the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care:

  • The Long-term Care (LTC) Managed Care Program
  • The Managed Medical Assistance (MMA) Program

Medicaid recipients who qualify and become enrolled in the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care – Long-term Care program will receive long-term care services from a long-term care managed care plan. Medicaid recipients who qualify and become enrolled in the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care – Managed Medical Assistance program will receive all health care services other than long-term care from a managed care plan.

What does the Statewide Medicaid Managed Care program do?

Medicaid recipients will receive their long-term care services from a managed care plan. These managed care plans will cover long-term care services only and do not cover medications, doctor’s visits or other healthcare related services.

All long-term care managed care plans offer the following services:

  • Adult Companion
  • Adult Day Care (Adult Day Health Care)
  • Assistive Care Services
  • Assisted Living Facility Services
  • Attendant Care
  • Behavior Management
  • Caregiver Training
  • Case Management
  • Home Accessibility Adaptation
  • Home Delivered Meals
  • Homemaker
  • Hospice
  • Intermittent and Skilled Nursing
  • Medical Equipment & Supplies
  • Medication Administration
  • Medication Management
  • Nursing Facility Care
  • Nutritional Assessment and Risk Reduction
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Personal Care
  • Personal Emergency Response System
  • Physical Therapy
  • Respiratory Therapy
  • Respite Care
  • Speech Therapy
  • Transportation

The state will send Medicaid recipients a letter notifying them as to whether or not they are required to enroll in Florida’s Statewide Medicaid Managed Care – Long-term Care program and provide a list of plans for their specific region.

If you have specific questions regarding your Medicaid eligibility, the experienced elder law attorneys of Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A. are here to assist you. Call us at (941)906-1231 to set up a consultation.

June 22, 2020
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How to Get on the Florida Medicaid Waiver Wait List

By Asset Protection Planning, Elder Law, Government Benefits, Long-Term Care, Medicaid Planning

In Florida, the Medicaid program that helps pay for long-term care in an assisted living facility or at home is called the Long-Term Care Diversion Waiver. There is a waitlist for this program. In order to get on the waitlist, you will need to do the following:

  1. Call your local Area Agency on Aging and request a “screening for home and community-based services.” Each county in Florida is assigned to an Area Agency on Aging. Your local agency can be found here.

The representative will collect some preliminary information and will schedule a time for the phone screening with the individual requiring assistance, primary caregiver ,or closest family member.

  1. Complete the screening interview. The interview usually lasts about 30 to 40 minutes. The interview covers basic demographic information for the applicant, as well as information regarding the applicant’s income and assets. The interviewer will also ask about the applicant’s needs for care, including the applicant’s ability to perform Activities of Daily Living. It is important to be honest and provide the interviewer with all health and care issues no matter the extent of the issue.
  2. Following the interview, you should receive a prioritization decision. This letter indicates the applicant’s priority score, which determines their place on the waitlist. The higher the score, the higher the priority the applicant receives on the waitlist.
  3. At this point, you do not actually need to submit a Medicaid application, so you do not need to be technically asset or income qualified for Medicaid. However, it is important to have a plan in place to become income and asset qualified for Medicaid, so that you are ready to apply when the applicant receives a spot off the waitlist. If the applicants’ condition deteriorates while on the waitlist, you can request a re-assessment to move higher up on the waitlist.
  4. Once you receive notification that the applicant has received a spot off the waitlist, you will be provided with a deadline to submit the Medicaid application.

If you have specific questions regarding preserving your Medicaid eligibility, the experienced elder law attorneys of Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A. are here to assist you. Call us at (941)906-1231 to set up a consultation.

June 19, 2020
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What are the Activities of Daily Living?

By Asset Protection Planning, Elder Law, Health, Long-Term Care

The Activities of Daily Living are a series of basic activities performed by individuals on a daily basis which are necessary for independent living at home or in the community. There are multiple variations on the definition of the activities of daily living, but most organizations agree that there are 5 basic categories:

  1. Personal hygiene – bathing/showering, grooming, nail care and oral care
  2. Dressing – the ability to make appropriate clothing decisions and physically dress/undress oneself
  3. Eating – the ability to feed oneself, though not necessarily the capability to prepare food
  4. Maintaining continence – both the mental and physical capacity to use a restroom, including the ability to get on and off the toilet and cleaning oneself
  5. Transferring/Mobility – moving oneself from seated to standing, getting in and out of bed, and the ability to walk independently from one location to another.
June 18, 2020
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COVID-19: Tips for Caregivers of Individuals with Dementia

By Elder Law, Health

There is no evidence to suggest that dementia itself increases the risk for Coronavirus, just like dementia does not increase risk for flu. However, behaviors, increased age, and common health conditions that often accompany dementia may increase risk. For example, people with dementia may forget to wash their hands or take other recommended precautions to prevent the illness. Viruses like COVID-19 or the flu may worsen cognitive impairment due to dementia.

Caregivers of individuals living with dementia should follow guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and consider the following tips:

  • Increased confusion is often the first symptom of any illness for people living with dementia. If your loved one shows rapidly increased confusion, you should contact their health care provider for advice. Unless your loved one is experiencing a medical emergency, such as difficulty breathing or a very high fever, it is recommended that you call their health care provider instead of going directly to an emergency room. Their doctor may be able to treat them without a visit to the hospital.
  • Individuals living with dementia may need extra reminders and support to remember important hygienic practices.
    • Consider placing signs in the bathroom and elsewhere to remind your loved one to wash their hands with soap for 20 seconds.
    • Demonstrate thorough handwashing.
    • Alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can be a quick alternative to handwashing if your loved one cannot get to a sink to wash their hands easily.
  • Ask their pharmacist of doctor about filling prescriptions for a greater number of days to reduce trips to the pharmacy.
  • Think ahead and make alternative plans for care management if the primary caregiver should become sick.
June 15, 2020
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Tax Deadlines Postponed to July 15, 2020, due to Coronavirus

By Elder Law, Tax Law

In March 2020, in response to COVID-19, the IRS announced that taxpayers generally would have until July 15, 2020, to file and pay federal income taxes originally due on April 15, 2020. No late-filing penalty, late-payment penalty, or interest will be due.

On April 9, 2020, the Department of Treasury and the IRS expanded this relief to additional returns, tax payments, and other actions. As a result, the extensions generally now apply to all taxpayers that have a filing or payment deadline falling on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020. Individuals, trusts, estates, corporation and other non-corporate tax filers qualify for the extension. This means that anyone, including Americans who live and work abroad, can wait until July 15 to file their 2019 federal income tax return and pay any tax due.

The extensions are automatic and apply to all taxpayers. Taxpayers do not need to file other forms or contact the IRS to qualify.

Fred Jacobs is a Florida Board Certified Tax Lawyer.  Contact Fred at Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A. to discuss tax planning for you and your family. Call (941) 906-1231 to schedule an appointment.

June 10, 2020
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Beware of Coronavirus Related Scams in Florida

By Elder Law, Long-Term Care

The IRS is warning taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams related the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, which can lead to tax-related fraud and identity theft. The IRS and its Criminal Investigation Division have seen a new wave of phishing schemes against taxpayers.  Senior citizens are among the most vulnerable to these scams and should be especially careful during this time.

In its press release, the IRS reminded taxpayers that the IRS is never going to call you asking to verify or provide your financial information so you can get an economic impact payment or refund faster.  Taxpayers should watch out for emails, text messages, websites, and social media attempts that appear to be from the IRS and request money or personal information. If you receive an email that appears to be coming from the IRS, do not open it or click on attachments or links. You should go to the IRS official website, www.IRS.gov for the most up-to-date information.

The IRS also provides the following items to keep in mind, in order to protect yourself and your loved ones:

  • Scammers may emphasize the words “stimulus check” or “stimulus payment.” The official term is economic impact payment.
  • Scammers may ask the taxpayer to sign over the economic impact payment check to them.
  • Scammers may ask by phone, email, text, or social media for verification of personal and/or banking information, saying that the information is needed to receive or speed up their economic impact payment.
  • Scammers may suggest that they can get a tax refund or economic impact payment faster by working on the taxpayer’s behalf. This scam could be conducted by social media or even in person.
  • Scammers may mail the taxpayer a bogus check, perhaps in an odd amount, then tell the taxpayer to call a number or verify information online in order to cash it.

 

Taxpayers who receive unsolicited emails, text messages, or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from the IRS should forward it to [email protected].

Fred Jacobs is a Florida Board Certified Tax Lawyer and Sean Byrne is an elder law litigator.  Contact Fred or Sean at Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A. if you or a senior you know has been the target of elder exploitation or needs assistance with tax matters. Call (941) 906-1231 to schedule an appointment.

June 9, 2020
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