If Separated, Can My Spouse Inherit the Property I Buy, Before we are Divorced?
Video Summary
If separated, can my spouse inherit the property I buy before we are divorced? Well one of the first things we need to address is Florida doesn’t have legal separation. I believe that’s something comes from New York where they may have legal separation but we don’t have that. In Florida either you’re married or you’re single, one of the two, you’re not anywhere in between as far as your rights are concerned.
So we get to the question as to whether or not your spouse can inherit your property. Under our Florida law as is that you can leave your property to whomever you want under your will and you can exclude your spouse. Your spouse then has the right to file what they call an elective share wherein they get I believe it’s 30 percent of everything you own no matter how you hold it, whether it be in a revocable trust or wherever. So yes, you can buy property, you can leave it to whoever you want to.
Now if you happen to buy a home and you’re separated and you not going to be able get a mortgage when you buy a home in Florida if you’re married without the joint of your spouse because the Florida constitution requires that a spouse join in any conveyance or any mortgage as far as your homestead is concerned. But let’s say you say, “Well that’s not a problem. I pay cash for it.” Well that’s, it’s not a problem until you get ready to sell it during your lifetime while you’re still alive, and then you turn around and have to have your spouse join in the deed in order to be able to sell it. So if it’s your homestead here in Florida it’s not so much a problem buying it but when you get ready to get rid of it or try and mortgage it, you’ve got problems as far as needing your estranged spouse to sign.
Also if you are still married, even though you’re separated and you own your homestead here in Florida and you pass away, the spouse has a right to a life of state in your homestead property or can elect to take a half interest provided that you don’t have any minor children. If you have minor children then it’s automatic life estate. So there’s any number of complications as far as purchasing property. And so my suggestion is if you’re separated, well you need to go ahead and take care of getting divorced and clean up your property rights or enter into a marital settlement agreement with your separated spouse whereby they’re waiving any rights in this and that’s another way to handle these problems.
So if you have any questions on that, well give me a call at 727-847-2288.
- Published in Real Estate, Videos
If I Have Assets in More Than One State, Do I Need More Than One Will?
Video Summary
If I have assets in more than one state do I need more than one will? The answer to that is no, no, no. You need to have one will and it says that I devise all my real and personal property wherever it is situated to, and then you say who you leave it to. And so if the will is valid in the state where you execute it, then you can then use it to transfer or have the property probated in another state. So you have one will and the other states will honor that will if it’s honored in the state where it’s executed.
There is one exception is if you have what they call a holographic will which is a hand-written will, some states allow that to be entered. Florida requires all wills have at least two witnesses. So the will must have two witnesses to be recognized by Florida. But you only have one will and that covers all your asset no matter where they’re situated.
Now you run into a problem if you have property outside the United States, particularly in Europe or some of the other countries and that we have the English common law and these other states are code states, like in France they have the Napoleonic code, they might have forced inheritance agreements. And so you need to have that addressed. And then whenever people from England or Europe come to see me here in Florida, I prepare a will for U.S. assets only that complies with Florida law because it is a nightmare trying to understand what the laws are of a foreign country in order to have them apply to the Florida assets. And then you have other problems as far as community property states which we have seven of those are all west of the Mississippi, and that can affect who inherits your property and who’s entitled to the property. I’m not a community property expert but I know just enough to know that I don’t know.
So but if you’re a Florida resident you only need to have one will for wherever your assets are situated throughout the United States. And if you have property in a foreign country I suggest that we have an attorney or a notaire in that particular country prepare an inheritance agreement so you know who will receive it whenever you pass away.
So if you have any questions about this, give me a call at 727-847-2288.
Jaleh Piran-Vesseh – What Areas of Law do you Practice?
Video Summary
Hi, my name is Jaleh Piran-Vesseh, and I am an Associate Attorney here at the Law Firm of Waller and Mitchell. I have been here for two years as an Associate Attorney and the areas of law that I practice are predominantly Foreclosure Litigation, both Plaintiffs and Defense work, Guardianship Administration, Elder Law, Medicaid Planning, and Real Estate Litigation.
Jaleh Piran-Vesseh – What Legal Training do you have?
Video Summary
The legal training that I have stems from my time at Stetson University College of Law, where I graduated with a Juris Doctorate degree. I also have legal training in the fields of Foreclosure Defense, specifically, as well as Elder Law in Medicaid planning, and also in the Administration of Guardianship’s.
Jaleh Piran-Vesseh – What made you want to be a Lawyer?
Video Summary
Oftentimes, clients will ask me, “What made you want to be a lawyer?” and I hold that very dear to my heart, because for me, as a small child, I always knew that I wanted to help people. From an early age, I decided that being a Lawyer was the best possible way for me to accomplish this goal.
And so, the best part for me of being an Attorney is seeing the impact that I am able to make on my clients’ lives in a positive way, and sometimes, in not positive situations that they’re unfortunately in, tends to be the best part of being a Lawyer and the reason why I decided to get into this field, practice.