A client says, “I want to leave everything to my daughter when I die, no strings attached. Oh, and if she dies, gets divorced or gets sued, I want it protected.” The client does not realize the request is contradictory. Unless specific language is added to a will or trust holding the assets in trust […]
Many people have the misconception that a will avoids probate. This is incorrect. Probate is a court process that is required when a person dies owning assets in the decedent’s own name, and with no beneficiaries to receive the assets. It can be required if the deceased person left a will, and it can be […]
In Ginder v. Bank of America, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25562 (M.D. Fla. 2015), Rose L. Ginder (“Plaintiff”), an 81-year-old woman, deposited her life savings, approximately $175,000, into accounts at Bank of America (“BOA”). Over eight months, Plaintiff’s account balances dwindled. It turned out that a man named Michael Knight (“Knight”) identified himself as a […]
When someone dies, there are numerous tasks that must be completed, which can sometimes be a burden on family members during such a difficult time. A person can be proactive by planning andpaying for his/her final arrangements while still alive. This reduces the burden on family members,and assures that your wishes are carried out. After […]
People often think that placing their assets into a trust for their own benefit in Florida makes the assets inaccessible to creditors, taxing authorities and nursing homes, but that is not true. A self-settled trust in Florida, whether revocable or irrevocable, does not remove the assets from access by one’s creditors, Medicaid qualification rules or […]
A reverse mortgage is a special type of home loan that lets you convert equity in your home into cash. Equity is the value of your property minus the debt on your home. For example, a home worth $100,000, with no mortgage, has equity of $100,000. A home worth $100,000, with a $75,000 mortgage, has […]
Upon divorce, a marital settlement agreement states how joint assets shall be distributed. However, in the event of death prior to changing the beneficiary designation, it is important to know how assetswill be distributed. Prior to 2012, absent a marital settlement agreement specifying a beneficiary of the asset, the courts only had to look at […]
People frequently want to transfer all or part of their accounts or real estate to their children, relatives, or others. Generally, they wish to plan for Medicaid benefits, avoid probate, or avoid taxes.Often, such transfers are mistakes. We frequently hear from people who want to reverse a transfer, only to find out it is not […]
Sometimes people wish to own homes in untraditional ways. Adult children might wish to buy a home for their parents to live in. Unmarried adults may own a home together. Married couples with children from prior marriages may want to assure each other as to what will happen to a home on death. Handling these […]
As I wrote in a recent article, I recently gave a talk regarding “Scams, Shams and Flimflams”. As I was preparing for the talk, I came across a great number of government and non-government web sites providing information on these matters. This information came from the FBI’s site, “Common Fraud Schemes” http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/fraud#advfee The FBI site […]
On March 29, 2015, a DeLand man fell, hitting his head on the concrete, after climbing down from his attic. He has been in a coma since the accident. Now, the family is battling in court over his right to die and his right to stay alive by artificial means. We presume that he did […]
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