With so many competing claims, the case is likely headed for a protected and messy contested probate amid an ongoing federal investigation into the activities of Epstein and purported co-conspirators. It will be imperative for each of those staking a claim to work with a civil injury lawyer who has extensive experience with probate litigation, as The Ansara Law Firm does.

Although the Epstein case is unfolding on a stunning scale, it is not so uncommon for probate litigation cases to involve decedents who had been embroiled in legal trouble. That’s often a big part of what leads their estate to probate in the first place.more

The question is generally who gets to seize a bigger slice of the pie. In the Epstein case, it’s a very long line – with a pie likely to be sliced many times. Complicating matters is that Epstein reportedly went to great lengths to hide assets. Untangling that could take extensive time and financial detective work.

Representatives of several high-profile, wealthy individuals, speaking on the condition of anonymity to The Washington Post, revealed Epstein had solicited their business, offering to move their accounts offshore to shelter them from U.S. taxes. This would indicate Epstein was aware of how to move large assets around undetected or where the laws are very averse to creditors. There is little reason to think he wouldn’t have done the same with his own considerable wealth.

Complications With Dispersing Epstein’s Estate

Numerous civil claims asserting wrongdoing by Epstein have been filed, withdrawn, refiled and settled. Some are still pending. More are planned. Yet most of his victims are likely to have to wait for the U.S. government to get its take first. The IRS is expected to audit the estate, which isn’t a fast process – especially considering the twists and turns of Epstein’s financial records. As a Fort Lauderdale probate lawyer can explain, only what is left behind from the IRS will be available for division among claimants.

The executive of the estate is likely to be Epstein’s younger brother, a real estate investor believed to be his only living relative. The brother reportedly sought to put up his own home to help his brother make bail when he was arrested in July. However, the judge decided to hold Epstein without bail, deeming him a flight risk ahead of a trial that was to take place next year.

Epstein signed a will just two days before his death that could further complicate these claims. That will reportedly indicates that his estate is to be placed in a private trust, presumably to make it tougher for accusers to seize his assets. Although it’s unlikely to work, it could result in a protracted legal battle.

Call Fort Lauderdale Probate Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

What Jeffrey Epstein’s Last-Minute Will Means for Accusers Trying to Recover Money From His Estate, Aug. 20, 2019, TIME Magazine

Equitable strives for equal, but in the case of some breach of trust cases, our Fort Lauderdale probate litigation attorneys have seen this mean as little as 6 months… Or it could mean you have as many as 40 years.

In the case of undue influence, however (which is the most common grounds for a Florida will contest), your limitations period again is usually four years. At most, however, it can be up to 12 years. This is thanks to something called the “delayed discovery doctrine.”more Delayed Discovery Doctrine in Florida Probate Litigation

If a person’s knowledge of a wrongdoing (or the point at which one reasonably could have known about it) occurs after the statute of limitations has run out, F.S. 95.031(2)(a) holds that a cause of action (in this example, grounds for a Florida probate litigation lawsuit) could be delayed beyond the four-year statute of limitations that might normally be the deadline in an undue influence case.

Delayed discovery typically must be proven by showing that there was some type of fraud or concealment that prevented the person from knowing about the undue influence – or even possibly discovering it. Nonetheless in no case can you bring a case for undue influence by asserting fraud past 12 years from the alleged commission of that fraud – even if it couldn’t have been discovered before that.

The delayed discovery doctrine is applied usually only as the exception to the rule. For the most part, this statute refers only to claims of product liability. However, there was a case of alleged undue before Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal two years ago that asked whether one might apply the delayed discovery doctrine.

Delayed Discovery and Florida Undue Influence Lawsuit

In the 2017 case, the issue involved a philanthropic irrevocable trust. As a Fort Lauderdale undue influence probate attorney can explain, a revocable trust can’t be litigated until it becomes irrevocable. This usually happens when the settlor dies. In this case, however, the trust in question was always an irrevocable trust, meaning it was subject to challenge from the day of its inception, which would have been in 2005.

However, it wasn’t until 10 years after its inception, after the wife’s 2015 death, that the pair’s daughter sought to challenge the validity of that trust (which named the couple’s long-time doctor and attorney/accountant as trustees).

Most everyone involved agreed that the statute of limitations that applied was four years.

BUT… That is absent the assertion of the delayed discovery doctrine, which is what claimant alleged. This would have extended the filing deadline on the undue influence claim from four years (time-barring the claim as of 2009) to 12 years (through 2017). But as noted in Florida statute, this 12-year statute of limitations would only apply in the case of fraud.The trial court judge ruled undue influence cases are not founded upon fraud. However, this ruling was reversed by the 2nd District Court of Appeals.

In its reversal, the appellate panel sided with plaintiff in finding that undue influence is a type of fraud. The trustees in the case argue that fraud and undue influence have distinct elements and are not the same (and thus not subject to the delayed discovery doctrine). Justices found that while undue influence and fraud are indeed separate and distinct causes of action, but that undue influence basically asserts a type of fraud, assuming the facts of the case meet the elements necessary to prove fraud.

That didn’t mean plaintiff won her case, however. (In fact, she later lost.) But it did firmly establish that claims of undue influence asserting fraud can be subject to the longer 12-year statute of limitations.

Call Fort Lauderdale Probate Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Flanzer v. Kaplan, Nov. 29, 2017, Florida Second District Court of Appeal

More Blog Entries:

Florida Probate Dispute: Prenuptial Agreement Enforcement After Spouse Dies, Dec. 15, 2019, Fort Lauderdale Undue Influence Probate Litigation Attorney Blog

Generally, there are two ways this happens:

• A court order, typically following some type of biological testing.
• A signed acknowledgment by the father while he was alive.

A recent Florida case raised an interesting question that could be applicable to future probate litigation cases involving intestate estate where paternity is disputed. The Florida Supreme Court recently weighed in on the question of whether one can establish paternity when someone else is already presumed so by law.more

According to court records, a man claimed to be the father of a daughter born to respondent, as the two had been in a relationship for several years prior to the girl’s birth. However, the girl’s mother was also married to another man – a fact claimant said he did not know about prior to the child’s birth. Despite the marriage, the woman’s husband initially did not claim the child as his own, and claimant was present for the girl’s birth and supplied both financial and emotional support for the girl thereafter. Some time later, claimant asked a Florida civil court judge to declare him the child’s legal father. Both the girl’s mother and her husband objected, arguing a child born to a couple who is married is legally presumed to be the child of that couple. Trial court judge sided with the girl’s mother, finding that despite claimant’s evidence of paternity, he had no legal grounds upon which to pursue a paternity claim involving a child who was born in wedlock where the wedded couple objected.

The Florida 4th District Court of Appeal reversed, finding there is a presumption of legitimacy when a child is born to a married couple, but that presumption is rebuttable, meaning if he can produce evidence of his paternity, claimant does have the right to do so. The girl’s mother and her husband asked the Florida Supreme Court for review, and that request has been granted. In its decision to accept the case, the court pointed out the different conclusions reached by other appellate district courts in the state on the same issue.

The Florida Supreme Court‘s ruling came down on the side of the 4th DCA. In its decision, the court held that other courts that prior to this had adopted the legitimacy rule imposing an absolute bar to a biological father’s paternity claim when the child is born to a married couple was not necessary when previous case law had already established that even if a legal father is proven not to be the biological father, there must be a clear and compelling reason – based primarily on the child’s best interest – to overcome that presumption.

As for probate litigation cases, such matters may be more difficult to resolve after the death of either the presumed legal and/ or biological father, which is why it’s best to discuss options with an experienced South Florida probate litigation lawyer.

Call Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Simmonds v. Perkins, June 28, 2018, Florida Supreme Court

More Blog Entries:

Time Considerations in Challenging Probate Estates in Florida, July 5, 2018, South Florida Probate Litigation Attorney Blog

Although sometimes there is little expectation of an inheritance due to long-term erosion of the relationship, for many adult children and grandchildren, the news can come as something of a shock. The decision of whether to take action is a difficult one and will probably depend at least partially on what the odds are you’ll be successful in obtaining an equal share or at least a fairly-negotiated settlement with the named heirs.

There are a number of ways you may be able to challenge if you are left out of a will, all of which are time-sensitive so getting a probate lawyer involved as soon as possible is an imperative.more

These sort of cases aren’t especially unique, and occasionally one makes headlines due to one or two high-profile litigants. We say that recently with the estate of the late TV host and country singer Glen Campbell in Nashville, Tennessee. Campbell is best known for hits, “Rinestone Cowboy” and “Southern Nights.” Born the seventh of 12 children to a sharecropper in Arkansas, he was married four times and had eight children when he died at 81 of Alzheimer’s disease in August 2017. His estate was initially estimated to be valued at $50 million, but the court-appointed administrator recently released a far lower estimate to The Tennessean: little more than $400,000. That reportedly excludes future income rights from royalties, which are still pending an appraisal.

Previously, the local newspaper reported Campbell’s 13-page will drafted in 2006 (five years before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease) specifically excludes three of his eight children. His five other children were named as beneficiaries. The battle over the estate actually began when Campbell was placed in a conservatorship. After his death, his wife was named as executor of his estate, and the three excluded children (from his second wife) have since served notice that they will be contesting the will. (The will also prohibits any distribution to the singer’s two surviving siblings, though they have not filed any paperwork to contest.)

Court records show a subpoena was issued to the singer’s former publicist, seeking testimony as to Campbell’s competence when he signed the will. This is a challenge sometimes referred to as “capacity.” The publicist has been asked to submit all communications with or about Campbell and/ or his agent dating back to 2002.

If you are excluded from a will in Florida, a probate lawyer may be able to help you challenge that exclusion if there is clear and convincing evidence that:

• The will was invalid;
• The claimant was accidentally disinherited.

Most wills are generally presumed to be valid so long as they are verified, so claimants contesting it will need to overcome the presumption that the omission was not accidental and wasn’t drafted under duress, fraud or lack of mental capacity.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Court record: Glen Campbell specifically excludes 3 of 8 children from will, Nov. 30, 2017, By Walter F. Roche Jr., The Tennessean

More Blog Entries:

Family Conflicts Are Top Threat to Your Inheritance, Estate Planning Key,May 14, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Probate Lawyer

The siblings’ father reportedly left behind a real estate of fortune of more than $100 million. By coercing their mother, plaintiff alleges, the siblings engaged in something called undue influence.

Undue influence happens when someone close to the person who has or is making a will manipulates or pressures that person to alter that will in some legally significant way. We see a lot of examples of undue influence in cases against caretakers, close family members, nurses, agents – even attorneys. These cases often are tough to build because we must show whether the alterations or transfers were consistent with the person’s previous statements of intent (verbal or written). The court will want to see whether the person who wrote the will (the testator) truly intended to make those chances that unfairly impacted the plaintiff. It would be their right to do so, and it’s still important to note that even if there is some evidence showing the person was susceptible to undue influence, we still need to show the actions were not the true intention or free will of the testator.

As noted in F.S. 733.107, the burden of proof here is on the plaintiff.

In the case of the South Florida attorney, he says he’s not seeking the entire contents of the estate, only what he considers his fair share, particularly after he asserts it was him who assisted his father for decades in developing his real estate empire. He had office buildings, multi-tenant holdings and commercial shopping centers, and the son said he regularly advised his father on these issues. But when his father died 14 years ago, his entire fortune went to his surviving half sister and the estate of deceased half-brother.

Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal decided on the issue of the frozen brokerage account funds in plaintiff’s favor. However, there are still many other issues that have yet to be settled.

Plaintiff, now 75, is retired, but says for years, he used his professional skills to assist his father, a physician who later retired to Florida and dove into real estate.

His siblings, however, say this probate litigation action is born of greed. They say he never “helped build” the real estate business their father grew. They say plaintiff has already received millions of dollars – both before and after their mother’s death. However, they say, he didn’t like the number of millions he got.

Many cases like this are litigated strictly on the basis of circumstantial evidence, generally because the most important witness – the testator – is deceased. Additionally, conduct that’s deceptive typically doesn’t take place in the open.

If you are concerned that you/ loved one were victimized by undue influence, we can help.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

‘A Lot of Fighting’: Retired Attorney Battles Siblings for $100 Million Fortune, April 13, 2018, By Samantha Joseph, Daily Business Review

More Blog Entries:

Does Florida Probate Court Require Families to Pay Decedent’s Debts? March 28, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Lawyer Blog

Although reason it’s better to have something than nothing at all (64 percent of Americans don’t have a will – 55 percent of those being parents), the fact is if you are not experienced in handling these types of complex legal matters and anticipating certain contingencies, you may end up creating even more of a mess. Far too many people underestimate the complexity of their estate. It goes beyond simply divvying up the contents of a bank account. Everything – from identifying an executor or trustee to updating your beneficiary lists to gifting money to minors – all of these things require careful consideration.

Drafting your estate plan should come only after a well-thought-out estate and financial plan. If all you do is “fill-in-the-blanks,” that is not reflective of such a process. Further, one size does not fit all, and you also need to be sure that the document you have completed meets all the requirements for what is valid in your state. For instance, F.S. 732.502 requires two witnesses to properly execute a will in Florida, while Pennsylvania requires three. Further, these witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator and each other, which generally requires a self-proving affidavit. Usually, it’s the drafting attorney who signs these affidavits in your presence, but if you do-it-yourself on the internet, you won’t have this option.more

As our probate litigation attorneys in Fort Lauderdale can explain, search engines may help you dig up the necessary documents, but they aren’t going to provide you any meaningful advice that will take into account the specific elements of your personal and financial life. Some of the snags some people hit when they go for do-it-yourself estate planning:

• The law has changed. Laws can be fluid like everything else. That’s why even if you have all your planning in order, it’s a good idea to revisit it after major life changes or every few years.
• You create an unnecessary tax for yourself in cases where state and federal tax laws substantially diverge.
• Your will is no longer valid. Case-in-point: Your spouse was named as the primary beneficiary on your will, but then your spouse preceded you in death and you did not update your will. The will is no longer valid. This will mean the laws of intestate succession will kick in, which means the state decides where your assets will go. Often, it’s your next-of-kin, which may technically be individuals with whom you are not close.
• You granted assets or money to minors with no restrictions. This can lead to problems on many fronts. One way to avoid this is to establish a living revocable trust, wherein a trustee can help that minor use the money responsibly until they reach a certain age (usually around 25).

There is good logic in the phrase, “If you want to save money, hire a professional.” Although it’s not cheaper in the short-term, helping you avoid mishandled legal affairs that can bleed you of money and assets and cause strife among loved ones.

Call Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Do It Yourself Estate Planning–A Uniquely Bad Idea! May 17, 2011, By Rob Clarfeld, Forbes.com

More Blog Entries:

Does Florida Probate Court Require Families to Pay Decedent’s Debts?, March 28, 2018, Broward Probate Litigation Lawyer Blog

In general, no person is responsible for the debts of another while the debtor is alive – or dead. There are exceptions to this, though. For instance, spouses are often held accountable for each other’s medical debts in life. Relatives who co-sign or are also listed on loans may be responsible – that goes for student loans, car payments, mortgages, credit cards, etc. In death, a debtor’s outstanding obligations typically become the responsibility of “the estate.” The estate consists of all property, savings and debts. The process is much easier if there is a living trust in place, but if not, probate is the process of sorting through how those debts will be paid off and how property will be transferred to living beneficiaries.

To protect their inheritance, family members may need to start dealing with debts before probate has officially opened. That means keeping current on those administrative bills (i.e., mortgage, HOA fees, property taxes, utility bills, storage fees, etc.) until the probate estate is opened, and sometimes until the estate closes. Then there are the “final bills,” which can include income taxes, cell phones bills, credit card bills and retirement accounts. Beneficiaries of an estate probably should not pay out these final bills until the personal estate representative/ executor has settled the estate. A probate litigation attorney can help you sort through the details and determine the best way to protect your inheritance while still ensuring the estate meets its obligations.more

In situations where beneficiaries pay some or all of decedent’s bills prior tot he opening of the estate, the personal representative can later reimburse them – unless the beneficiary assumes mortgage payments on a property that beneficiary will inherit or refinance (as allowable under the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982).

For the most part, though, once a person’s estate is in probate, creditors will have a chance to file a claim against the estate. So assuming you never co-signed or guaranteed any of that debt (and assuming you aren’t married) chances are slim-to-none you will be responsible for it. That means if there isn’t enough money in the decedent’s estate to pay those outstanding debts, they will generally remain unpaid, and family members won’t be responsible for them.

A probate attorney can help individuals in mapping out their will and give testators and beneficiaries a strong sense of what the obligations will be and which assets will be remaining – prior to testator’s passing (assuming a major illness, long-term care requirement or other issue doesn’t eat into those savings or expand that debt).

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Is My Family Responsible for My Debts? January 2013, By Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, AARP

More Blog Entries:

Florida Probate Litigation Alleging Elder Financial Exploitation Results in $34M Damage Award to Estate, Feb. 13, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Attorney Blog

This is certainly not to say that stepmothers are “evil” in all or even most of these scenarios. What it does highlight is the fact that so many conflicts in matters of estate involve this dynamic and it’s indicative of the fact that an increasing number of families are blended and this inevitably can create long-simmering tension that can spill over into disputes over estate property, beneficiary rights to a trust or an inheritance.

The Pew Research Center reported just a couple years ago that in 1960, 73 percent of children were living in two-parent family households. By 2014, that figure dropped to 46 percent. The number of single-parent households rose from 9 percent to 26 percent during that time. Sixteen percent of children live in so-called “blended families,” with a stepparent, step-sibling or half-sibling. And of course, these figures reflect family structures in childhood; those single parents often go on to get married as the children get older or reach adulthood. There is also an increasing trend toward cohabitation among elderly paramours, which might further complicate matters legally.more

What further explains the stepmother-stepchildren conflicts in Florida probate litigation is the biological reality that women tend to outlive men. As noted recently in a report by The Scientific American, women outlive men in the U.S. by about 6.7 years (males have a life expectancy of 73.4 years while women have a life expectancy of 80.1 years). Women have a biological advantage, but there are also a number of environmental factors too (men tend to take more risks, avoid seeing doctors, have more dangerous jobs and tend to suffer higher rates of conditions like heart disease – and at a younger age). All of this means that widowed females are inevitably going to outnumber widowed males – as MarketWatch notes, from 11.2 million to 2.9 million. When these spouses have children from previous marriages and relationships, it seems obvious that more often than not (barring a same-sex relationship), the “surviving spouse” is going to be the female.

Escalating these points of contention is the fact that only a fraction of adult stepchildren say they feel close to their stepmothers, and many don’t grow much closer over time. There could be many reasons for this, but this estrangement or even general indifference toward an elderly parent’s spouse can create heightened conflict when that parent dies. This can sometimes be especially exacerbated when the stepparent was only married to decedent for a relatively short time before death. That doesn’t necessarily mean the updated wills or estate plans are invalid, but it can spark allegations of undue influence, particularly if decedent suffered from dementia. So too can evidence of favorable treatment of a stepmother’s own children over a decedent father’s biological children.

If you have a conflict over a loved one’s estate or need more information about estate planning, our probate litigation attorneys in Fort Lauderdale can help.

Call Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Why stepmothers are so often the villains at the heart of estate fights, Jan. 30, 2018, MarketWatch

More Blog Entries:

New Year, New Florida Estate Planning Considerations, Jan. 6, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Attorney Blog

These damages involve actions over a three-year period from 2009 to 2012, and involve investments in banking and financial services. At the time, the decedent was alive, but suffering from severe dementia, of which he died in 2012, according to InvestmentNews.com. The bank insists there was evidence the accounts were profitable and were managed in accordance with their client’s wishes, a view clearly not shared by arbitrators. Decedent’s widow stated her primary hope was that the case would spur greater protections for elderly investors.

Good probate litigation attorneys in Fort Lauderdale know that so often, we don’t recognize an elderly loved one is being financially exploited until after the individual dies. Although the aforementioned case is unique in terms of the scope of the exploitation, the circumstances themselves aren’t all that rare, and we’re likely to see quite a bit more cases in the coming years, as the American population ages.more

As noted in a recent report by Business Insider, we’re on the verge of one of the greatest transfers of personal wealth from one generation to the next, with baby boomers estimated to transfer some $30 trillion to surviving family members over the next two-to-three decades. Some estimates are even higher, and it’s expected these transfers might occur more than once, as family members age.

The lure of this money attracts of course legitimate tax planners and financial advisers, but also predatory actors – even some who may be affiliated with larger and legitimate firms.

The Florida Bar indicated attorneys are likely to see an uptick in the number of cases arising out of pre-death financial exploitation of the elderly, with remedies available under civil law under Florida’s Adult Protective Services statutes, found in Florida Statute Chapter 415. This law allows victims of financial exploitation to seek compensation and accountability for these acts.

Florida has the highest percentage of people over 65 in the nation, accounting for just about one-fifth of our population. That figure is growing. Those who exploit aren’t limited to those providing professional services, but also can include parents, spouses, adult children, relatives, joint tenants, caregivers or anyone owing a legal or fiduciary relationship to the individual (i.e., guardian, trustee, conservator, attorney, etc.).

One challenge in these cases will be determination of who is a “vulnerable” adult. For instance, we may know that an individual was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia, but determining the exact onset of those conditions and pinpointing when the individual was “vulnerable” could prove challenging.

Many of these claims will involve assertions of undue influence and elder financial abuse. Undue influence involves a type of coercion wherein a person in a position of trust abuses that trust and compels the individual to act in a manner that may not reflect their own free will. If the probate court finds a contract or agreement was made that involved undue influence, that contract can be deemed void.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Finra panel orders Morgan Stanley to pay $34 million to estate of former Home Shopping Network chief, March 22, 2016, By Mark Schoeff Jr., InvestmentNews.com

More Blog Entries:

Settling an Estate With No Will in Florida: Intestate Succession, Jan. 25, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Attorney Blog

The term “intestate succession” refers to the distribution of one’s estate when one dies absent a valid will. The process varies from state-to-state, but generally follows that one’s surviving spouse and other heirs will receive decedent’s possessions in order of descent.

Florida’s intestate succession laws are outlined in F.S. Chapter 732. It should be noted that state laws can frequently change, so it’s important to discuss your options with a probate litigation lawyer if you have concerns about your rights and obligations.

Only assets that would pass through your will would be affected by intestate succession laws. That means things like your life insurance proceeds, retirement account funds, jointly-owned property or property that’s been transferred to a living trust generally isn’t going to be subject to Florida intestate succession provisions.

Although no two people will have the exact same situation, the state of Florida has outlined a number of common scenarios that are applicable for many families. Much will depend on whether you have a surviving spouse, children, parents or other close relatives when you die.

In general, if you have:

• Spouse but no descendants – Spouse will inherit everything;
• Children but no spouse – Children inherit everything;
• Spouse and shared descendants (with decedent having no other descendants) – Spouse will inherit everything;
• Spouse with decedent having descendants from another relationship – Spouse will inherit half of the property that is intestate, while the surviving descendants will inherit the other half;
• Parents but no spouse or descendants – Parents inherit everything;
• Siblings, but no spouse, descendants or parents – Siblings inherit everything.

We saw that last scenario last year when famed singer Prince’s six siblings inherited his $200 million estate when he died without a will.

The one way to control this distribution if it’s not agreeable to you is to have a will in place. Similarly, spouses should not presume they will automatically receive all their partner’s property, particularly if there are descendants or if some of that property was not subject to intestate laws (i.e., retirement accounts, life insurance, etc.). It should be noted that adopted children and (generally) those born outside of marriage are considered descendants, as well children conceived by decedent but not born prior to death. Foster children, stepchildren and children placed for adoption will not be entitled to an inheritance. Grandchildren would only have rights to one’s inheritance if their parent dies before the grandparent.

In cases where disputes arise, the matter may end up in probate litigation. Our experienced Fort Lauderdale probate litigation lawyers can help.

Call Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Haven’t Done A Will Yet? 2017, By Barbranda Lumpkins Walls, AARP

One of the primary reasons people avoid estate planning is because they erroneously assume it’s something reserved for the wealthy and maybe the elderly. The fact of the matter is, pretty much everybody has an estate and people tend to underestimate the confusion or even animosity that can arise among surviving loved ones regarding the contents of that estate. That includes the care and well-being of any young children you have, should something happen to you and your spouse.

A review of your estate planning documents may not sound like a particularly festive way to being a brand new year, but it is a smart one. You’ll want to make sure that your will, trust and powers of attorney still comply with your wishes. And if you don’t have these in place, it’s time to make it one of your resolutions to do so.more

Our probate litigation attorneys in Fort Lauderdale know that while you can never predict what the future may hold, there are some common threads we see when disputes arise. We also recognize how they could have been prevented. Some things to consider in reviewing or drafting your estate planning files:

Examine what changes have occurred in your life since you last updated your estate documents. If you have gotten married or divorced, had a child, moved or had some major financial event occur, these changes could have an impact on your estate, and these changes may need to be reflected in your updated documents.

• Look over your will and/ or revocable trust. These are documents that indicate where your assets will go at the time of your death. You need to make sure that the person you have listed as your personal representative and/ or trustee are up-to-date, that the beneficiaries you name reflect who should receive your money and that you have clearly stipulated where certain gifts (i.e., heirlooms or jewelry) should go. Some people even outline where their pets should go. Having all of this up-to-date can help avoid probate litigation among survivors.
• Update your financial power of attorney/ health care power of attorney. These are individuals you name to be in charge of either financial and business matters or decisions pertaining to your health care if you are incapacitated.
• Review your insurance and retirement plans to make certain the beneficiaries listed therein are still accurate. If you have been through a divorce or other major life change, it’s possible you may want to update this information to reflect your wishes.

If a dispute does arise involving an estate, an experienced, compassionate probate litigation attorney can help you navigate the complex and emotional process.

Call Fort Lauderdale Probate Litigation Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Estate Planning At Any Age: It’s Not Just for the Wealthy, Dec. 20, 2017, Ameritrade