With winter in full swing, snowbirds are flocking to Florida to escape the frigid northern temperatures. Moving south for the winter requires a lot of preparation. However, one preparatory step that many snowbirds fail to consider is estate planning. As a snowbird, living in more than one state during the year can...
Three Common Florida Will Provisions
At a minimum, everyone over the age of 18 years old should have a will. With a will, you can plan for the distribution of your property after death, appoint a personal representative, and make other important decisions. Although every will is different, most wills contain several common provisions. In this article,...
4 Reasons to Avoid Probate in Florida
Probate in Florida is a court-supervised process in which a deceased person’s assets are distributed to his or her surviving heirs and creditors. One of the advantages of estate planning is that it avoids the probate process altogether. Buy why avoid probate? In this article, we share four reasons to avoid...
A Comparison of the Estate Administration Process: New York and Florida
Clients often ask about the differences between the estate administration process in New York and Florida. The most significant difference is that once a person is appointed Executor or Administrator of an Estate, the process is essentially over. In Florida, it is ongoing and it is necessary to take several...
Important Estate Planning Documents for Florida Snowbirds
Florida is a popular destination for snowbirds looking to escape the cold winter months. Although moving to Florida for several months of the year requires meticulous preparation, there is one important area that many snowbirds overlook: estate planning. Snowbirds have unique needs that can only be effectively addressed through the estate planning...
What is Summary Administration in Florida?
In Florida, summary administration is an expedited probate process that does not require the appointment of a personal representative. Summary administration holds several advantages over traditional probate, which tends to be lengthy and expensive. Therefore, for qualifying estates, summary administration is generally a good option. In this article, we discuss summary administration...
Advantages of Avoiding Probate in Florida
Probate is a court-supervised process by which the court, through a personal representative, identifies and gathers the assets of a deceased person (also called a decedent), pays his or her debts, and distributes his or her assets to the appropriate beneficiaries. Although probate is useful and sometimes necessary, it has several disadvantages....
The Benefits of Revocable Trusts
Advertisements, seminars and books which promote revocable living trusts foster the misconception that probate is an evil to be avoided. Living trusts are also touted as devices which avoid estate taxes and protect assets from long-term health care costs.
The reality is that probate is usually not a difficult...
New York & Florida Probate: A Comparison
Clients often ask why they need to go through a probate process when someone dies leaving a last will and testament. The simple answer is that there needs to be a legal procedure whereby the ownership of assets is transferred from the deceased to his/her beneficiaries. Is probate something to be avoided? The answer...
Probating a New York Will in Florida
Clients who are moving or have moved from New York to Florida frequently ask if the wills prepared for them in New York are valid. The short answer is yes, they are. Florida attorneys may tell clients differently, but the reality is that as long as one can produce a sworn affidavit stating that...