Is My Will Filed with the Court?
Video Summary
Is my Will filed with the court. Your Will is not filed with the clerk of the court until such time as you pass away. Whoever has possession of the original Will is supposed to file it with the clerk of the court in whatever county you were a resident. And so that is the requirement as far as the filing’s concerned, but they’re not filed until such time as you pass away. So if you have any questions about your filing, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
What Happens When Parents Pass Away Without a Will?
Video Summary
What happens when parents pass away without a Will? Well, whenever someone passes away without a Will, the Florida statutes designate who is to receive the assets or who the beneficiaries are. Since you’re using parents, I assume that they are married, and so you would record death certificates for both of those. Then you would look at the last parent who passed away and determine who the children are of that decedent, and based upon that, they’re the ones who would inherit his estate, his or her estate under the Florida statutes and the event that the decedent had no children, then the beneficiaries are his parents. If his parents had predeceased them, then it goes to his siblings and their siblings children. If any of them have predeceased them, this is, if you have any questions about it, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
How Can I Reduce Potential Conflict Among Beneficiaries?
Video Summary
How can I reduce potential conflict among beneficiaries of my estate or trust? Well, one suggestion I have is to appoint an independent or third-party trustee who is not a beneficiary, so that they can state that he is favoring himself, and that way the independent trustee or personal representative can administer the trust or a state and make the distribution, pay the creditors’ claims. And then if the beneficiaries have problems with some of the other beneficiaries, well the trustee can say, well, that’s up to you if you wish to file an action as far as that’s concerned. But I’m willing to follow the directions under the trust and that way whatever assets are titled in the trustee’s name or in the decedent’s name will be distributed pursuant to the provisions in the will or trust, and so for which they’ll receive a fee for serving as an executor or trustee. If you have any questions about your will or trust and how to do this, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Probate, Videos
Does An Executor of a Will Get Paid for His Time?
Video Summary
Does an executor of a Will receive pay or are they entitled to be paid? The answer is yes. Under our Florida statute, it provides that the executor presume a reasonable fee is 3% of the assets of the estate. Also, when dealing with executors, particularly with small estates, that may be complicated, I suggest they keep track of their time rather than trying to rely on the 3% because that may not adequately compensate them for what’s involved as far as researching matters and then have them compensated for whatever time they spend on that. And depending on what jurisdiction you are in or what county you’re in, is what hourly rate would be justified for their efforts. As far as serving as the executor and whatever the fee is, is also up to the beneficiary. Since any beneficiary who’s receiving a residual portion of the estate bears the impact of the fee, it’s subject to the beneficiaries objecting to it. So many times, if the executor is also a beneficiary of the estate, they would waive that. Since it’s taxable income, since they’ll be receiving it, the money has a beneficiary of the estate. So if you have any questions about it, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos, Wills
Do Wills Have to Be Probated?
Video Summary
Do Wlls have to be probated? The question of whether or not there’s probate or not is whether or not they died with assets in their name without a beneficiary. If there are assets that are in the decedent’s name and don’t have a beneficiary such as real estate their home, then yes, the will has to be probated and that the will directs who the beneficiary of the estate will be and moreover indicates who the executor or personal representative would be in order to administer the estate and give notice to creditors and complete the administration of the estate. If you have any questions about probate or your Will, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.