Video Summary

Who can contest a Will in Florida? Well, usually it is any of the children of the decedent contest a Will and or if you’re a beneficiary that was included in one Will and a subsequent Will disinherited you or took you out, then you’re in a position to have standing in order to bring an action to contest the existing Will. The two basis for the primary two basis for contesting Will is one is the incapacity of the person when they made the Will. This is very difficult standard to reach and that you have to have medical records to show on the date that they executed the Will. They were not in the right mind. And in fact, there’s a case that says even someone that’s insane can have a Will, even though in a lucid moment the primary way to attack a Will is through alleging undue influence by the recipient of most of the benefits of the Will or where you were excluded from the will as a beneficiary. And so you have to show that that person unduly influenced the test state in order to have it set aside and the prior will reinstated or have it set aside and the assets passed to the heirs under the laws of the state of Florida called in test state. So, if you have any questions, you can call me at (727) 847-2288.

 

Video Summary

Why would I want to avoid probate? The primary reason most folks want to avoid probate is the expense involved. Also, there is some delay as far as the distribution of the decedent’s assets if you have to go through a probate proceeding, and so the probate proceeding is designed to make sure that the creditors are paid and the property is distributed to beneficiaries designated by a Will or a Trust. So, there is ways to avoid probate by how you retitle your assets or possibly set up a Trust. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

 

Video Summary
How can I simplify probate in Florida? Well, the best way to do it is to do estate planning and to avoid probate entirely, and that can be done on how you title your assets and designate beneficiaries. As far as your assets are concerned, the probate is the legal term, which refers to the legal process involved when someone passes away to have their assets transferred to the appropriate beneficiaries under a Will or if they don’t have a Will under the Florida statutes. That also is to protect the creditors, so the creditors can be paid. There are several forms of probate and there’s that depending on whether or not there’s creditors, and also depending on the value of the estate as to whether or not those can be utilized. But the best way to simplify probate is to avoid it entirely, which can be done through estate planning. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

 

Video Summary
How long do I have to contest a Will? In Florida you have, I believe it’s four months from the date, the receipt of the notice of administration, I believe it’s for, it may be three months, but you have to file if you’re given that notice, even before the Will is admitted to probate. If you’ve given the notice before it’s admitted to probate, the time period is much shorter. It is either 20 or 30 days to contest the Will, so it’s all triggered by when you first received the notice. That as far as the will being admitted to probate or if it has been admitted to probate the notice of administration. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.

 

Video Summary

I bought land that’s now landlocked due to a dispute between neighbors to the south and the north walking the road on both sides. What can I do? Well, the first thing you need to do is contact a real estate attorney to check into this. Whenever you go to see the attorney, you need to take with you the closing documents that you received when you purchased the property to see if you have a title insurance policy. The title insurance policy guarantees you legal access to the property. The attorney would then review that and then he will need to determine if this easement as to whether or not it exists. And he’ll probably have to order title searches on both your neighbor’s property to the north and the south to see about getting a copy of this easement once he gets to see about the easement, the width, and its use and why it’s established.
And see if your property is the property that was intended to access or be an easement to for ingress and egress. And if it was, well, then you have a cause of action against the property owners who are blocking the easement if it was intended for your use. If however, you did not have an easement to your property and you had title insurance, you have a claim against their titled insurance company for them to see about gaining access for you. In the event that you don’t have titled insurance and you don’t have an easement, there are a couple of statu whereby you can file an action for a statutory way of necessity, and that’s where you would have to buy the property to the nearest route, to the nearest county or state road to gain access. It’s a little bit complicated as far as that’s concerned, but if you have any questions about it, you can give me a call at (727) 847-2288.