Category Archives: Probate
How To Disclaim An Inheritance
Estate planning lawyers warn their clients not to use their wills as a tool to micromanage their families from beyond the grave. If the testator stipulates that his children can only inherit from him if they marry within the family’s faith community, for example, everyone loses. If the children follow their father’s wishes, their… Read More »
The “Insane Delusion” Challenge To A Will
Even though the state has laws for passing property to your relatives, writing a will is an empowerment act. Your heirs might be surprised about your choices about what to do with your property; they might not like it, but your word has the force of law. If a disinherited family member wants to… Read More »
Legal Conflict Management Measures For Inheriting A Real Estate Property Jointly With Family Members
Homeownership remains the marker of generational wealth, even as it becomes increasingly elusive. Most homeowners in the United States have parents who were homeowners, and the greatest predictor of whether Americans under the age of 40 will ever be able to afford to buy a house or condo is if their parents own real… Read More »
Can The Personal Representative Of An Estate Resign From The Role?
No one enjoys being the personal representative of a deceased person’s estate, with the possible exception of lawyers who choose to focus their practice on estate planning and probate cases. It is at least as much work as filing your taxes, and even if you get an inheritance at the end, this inheritance is… Read More »
The Risk Of Identity Theft Does Not End When You Die
If you are a caregiver for an elderly family member, you are always on your guard against financial abuse. You monitor your elderly family member’s transactions, and perhaps you even have a power of attorney. You get suspicious when a professional caregiver or anyone else seems overly interested in befriending your family member. Maybe… Read More »
Probate Shortcuts For Small Estates
Estate planning is not just for rich people, but it is certainly more fun to daydream about your loved ones inheriting property than it is to imagine them paying your outstanding debts until there is nothing left. Probate is not fun for anyone, even if they inherit a sizable amount of property, but it… Read More »
How Does Adoption Affect Probate Cases?
Many people who were adopted from foster care when they were in their infancy remember feeling a sense of relief at formalizing a permanent family situation after years of uncertainty. For people who were adopted as infants, the uncertainty often begins later, in adolescence or young adulthood, when they start wanting to find out… Read More »
Probate For Part-Time Residents Of Florida
The stereotype goes that old people retire to Florida, and their younger relatives use their houses as free accommodations for wintertime beach vacations, but when the elderly Floridians need the help of their younger relatives, the younger relatives pretend that they are snowed in up north, even though no blizzard could keep them from… Read More »
The Probate Court Can Disinherit Abusive Family Members
Estate planning lawyers advise clients against disinheriting family members for petty reasons. They also advise against setting conditions on receiving payments from a testamentary trust; attempts to micromanage beyond the grave are rarely successful, especially when the testator of the will or grantor of the trust is no longer around to enjoy the Schadenfreude. … Read More »
Are You Prepared For The Time And Cost Of Probate?
It is for good reason that people say that your 40s and 50s are the most stressful time in your life. You are part of the “sandwich generation,” caring simultaneously for your children and your parents; both generations sometimes seem like they don’t need your help, only to catch you off guard with their… Read More »
