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As we navigate the complexities of life, it's essential to consider the what-ifs. What if I become incapacitated and can no longer make decisions for myself? Who will ensure the protection of my rights, and what remaining rights will I have? Protecting your autonomy...
Special needs trusts (SNTs) have been a feature of informed estate planning in Florida for almost 20 years. During this period, attorneys have detected some flaws in the statutory and regulatory framework that govern SNTs. Recent changes in this legal structure by...
When you create your estate plan, it is important that you also appoint a personal representative. This person has the responsibility of ensuring your final wishes. He or she will make sure that the court gets your will and other estate documents while managing your...
One of the requirements to write a valid will is a sound mind. Diseases and physical conditions that affect the functioning of the brain can reduce someone's mental capacity. If an individual attempted to write a will following the diagnosis of such a condition, the...
Undue influence is a type of fraud wherein a person uses over-persuasion, duress, force or coercion to impact another person’s action. For example, in the case of making a will, this may be if a caretaker manages to get a person to change a will for the caretaker's...
Watching a parent age can be emotionally challenging. After all, while your mother or father cared for you through the early years of your life, you may have to switch roles in your parent’s golden years. If your parent becomes incapacitated, you may need to ask a...
If someone names you as an heir in his or her Florida will, you may not realize that the deceased’s estate administrator likely will have to first take the estate through probate. You may also not know that if the administrator fails to properly perform his or her...
The loved ones of an individual must file the paperwork on his or her behalf to officially declare the individual as incapacitated. This signifies that the person is unable to exercise certain rights, so someone else has the legal ability to make them for the...
A final will and testament is an important document meant to accurately convey an individual’s wishes for the division of his or her property after death. As such, the court system tends to uphold a will’s contents as closely as possible. However, there are a variety...
Legal incapacity refers to someone’s lack of adequate mental capacity to make important legal decisions. Incapacity could require a family to appoint a guardianship on the incapacitated person’s behalf, so a trusted person can make estate-related decisions instead. In...