Video Summary

Hi.  I’m Chip Waller.  Many people are concerned about what assets are protected from the creditors when they pass away.  The primary asset that the creditors cannot reach is your home.  Many times your home is your most valuable asset.  Given this present economic recession and real estate bust, the value of your home has gone down substantially, and if there’s a mortgage on it, there may not be any equity, but that is an asset that is protected, and the creditors cannot reach the home if you leave it to your children or your grandchildren or relatives.

If you leave your house to your relatives, it doesn’t matter how much credit card debt or judgments or any other debt that you may have; they will not attach to the home, and it will be passed to your heirs.  If you leave it to a non-heir, then it can be reached by your creditors, and it’s called your homestead, and it’s protected under the Florida constitution.

If you’re interested in seeing about having your estate plan prepared either through a trust or a will, we can further discuss what assets are protected from creditors.  Please give me a call at (727) 847-2288.  Thank you.

Video Summary

Sometimes when a person dies, the question arises of whether the decedent’s spouse can challenge his or her will. This is particularly of interest of the spouse was not left anything in the will. According to the law, a spouse does have a right to a percentage of all assets the decedent leaves behind, so he or she can challenge a will in order to exercise that right.

The best protection if you do not want your spouse to have rights to your estate or you would like to stipulate a specific portion that he or she is entitled to is to execute a prenuptial agreement. Our firm does not currently deal with prenuptial agreements, but if you would like help in drafting a will to protect your assets, please call us at (727) 847-2288.

• How Can I Minimize the Chances of My Will Being Contested After My Death?
• What Happens When Parents Pass Away Without a Will?
• How Can I Reduce Potential Conflict Among Beneficiaries?
• Probate Lawyer Vs Estate Planning Attorney What’s The Difference?
• How Easy Is It to Set Up POD On Bank Accounts, What’s Involved?
• How Long Will It Take to Create Estate Planning?
• Does the Spouse Who Quitclaimed the House, Originally Purchased Before Marriage, Retain Any Rights to it, considering it Wasn’t Treated?
• When Someone Passes, What Happens to Their Bank Account?
• Why Would a Trust Be a Bad Idea?
• Why Would I Want to Avoid Probate?
• How Can I Simplify Probate?
• What Happens if Someone Doesn’t Claim Their Inheritance?
• What is a Probate Dispute Defined As?
• Can I Be Sued for My Inheritance?
• How Are Creditors Handled in Probate?
• Does a Living Trust Avoid Estate and Probate Taxes?
• What Can I Do If I Feel My Loved Ones Will Was Written Under Duress?
• How Do I Obtain a Death Certificate?
• What Do I Do if Someone is Mishandling the Estate?
• Can I Use My Mother’s Power of Attorney, After Her Death to Closes Her Bank Account?
• What Laws or Other Factors are Considered When Distributing Assets Within the Trust?
• Do I Have to Pay the Decedent Credit Card Bills and Medical Bills From a Joint Acct?
• Why Would I Need a Disposition Without Administration?
• Is There A Time Limit For Probate?
• How Do I Get My Deceased Parents Annuity?
• Do I Have To Pay The Decedent Credit Card Bills And Medical Bills From A Joint Account?
• If I Named 1 Person As The Beneficiary On My 401k Account, But Changed My Mind and Want To Designate Someone Else While Writing My Will, Will My Will Take Precedence?
• Are My Assets Protected If I Place Them In A Trust?
• Do I Have To Pay Income Tax On Money I Receive From An Estate?
• If My Husband Dies, Do I Have To Pay His Medical Bills?
• What Happens When You File a Claim Against a Probate Estate?
• WHAT IS PROBATE
• Does My Will Have To Be Probated
• Does Revocable Trust Need a Bank Account
• Can a Portion of a Will be Invalid
• What Makes Will Invalid?
• How Do I Determine If a Deceased Person Owns Property?
• Should Bank Accounts of the Deceased Person Be Closed Immediately Upon Death?
• Who owns the personal possessions of a deceased person?
• How Do I Close A Credit Card Account of a Deceased Person?
• Should Bank Accounts of the Deceased Person Be Closed Immediately Upon Death?
• Do I Have to Report Money Received As a Beneficiary to Probate Court?
• How Do I Release a Vehicle Lien?
• How Do I Stop Automatic Bill Payments of a Deceased Person?
• What Are the Different Types of Probates?
• Who Are the Parties That Have to Be Involved Going Through the Florida Probate Process?
• How Long Does the Florida Probate Process Take from Start to Finish?
• Is It Ever Too Late To Start The Florida Probate Process?
• How Do You Avoid Probate For Florida Property?
• How Long Does Probate Take?
• Is Florida Probate Administration Always Required?
• Are Retirement Accounts Considered Part of an Estate?
• Where Does the Money Go if No Beneficiary Is Named On My Deceased Spouse’s Bank Account?
• When Is An Estate Too Small For Probate?
• How Much Does Probate Cost?
• If You are the Executor and the Only Beneficiary of an Estate, Does it Have to go Through Probate?
• Should I Add an Asset to a Probate Case That is in Summary Administration in Florida?
• What Is Summary Administration?
• What If A Person Dies With A Will And Both Executors Are Deceased?
• What Happens When Someone Dies And There Is No Probate Administration?
• What Happens If I Own Probate Property But Don’t Have A Will?
• Do You Have To Be Married To Be Entitled To A Partner’s Estate?
• What Does It Mean To Administer An Estate?
• What Type Of Assets Go Through Probate?
• Who Is Responsible For The Debts Of A Deceased Person?
• If I Have A Will Does My Estate Have To Be Probated?
• What Is The Probate Process?
• Should A Parent Put Their Child On A Deed To Avoid Probate?
• How Can I Protect My Children’s Inheritance Of My Home If I Have Creditors?
• How Do You Avoid Probate and Have Asset Protection?
• If I Inherit Money, Do I Have to Pay Tax on the Money?
• How Much are Estate Taxes in Florida?
• What Are The Rights of a Spouse in a Home When the Spouse Dies?
• If I am Married, Do All My Deceased Spouses Assets Pass to Me?
• How Does a Lady Bird Deed Help My Heirs Avoid Probate?
• What Is The Difference Between Formal Administration And Summary Administration?
• 2013 Estate Tax Update
• How Long Does Probate Take?
• What Steps Can I Take To Avoid Probate?
• When Someone Dies, What Happens to His or Her Bank Account?
• What Assets Are Protected from Creditors When I Pass Away?
• Does a Spouse Have the Right to Challenge a Will?
• Probate Video Index
• What is an Executor?
• What Does Probate Mean?
• How Can I Avoid Probate?

Video Summary

I get asked questions from time to time about words that are used in wills or trusts. One of those words is the word “executor.” An executor is a Latin term, which denotes a person who takes care of administering the estate. That language has been changed with word processing any number of years ago.

Now, executors and executrixes are referred to as personal representatives, which is a neuter term and also makes the word processing of documents much easier, since you do not have to designate whether they’re male or female. Also, it is substituted for the word “administrator” or “administratrix”–the male and female gender. So, whenever you see your documents, you won’t see the word “executor.” You’ll see the word “personal representative.”

If you’d like to have your will or trust revised, prepared, please call at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.

Video Summary

I get asked from time to time about various terms and estate-planning documents. One of the big words that is feared throughout the community as far as estates and estate planning is the word “probate.” What does probate mean? Probate describes the administration of your estate; that you do have probate if you have any assets that are in your name alone, whether or not you have a will or not.

Also, it is not near as expensive as what many people believe it to be. Presently, the cost of handling a very small estate is in the neighborhood of $2,500.00 to $3,500.00 for assets of less than $100,000.00. Much of that cost has to do with attorney fees rather than any court costs or taxes. Presently, there are no estate taxes in the year 2010 in the State of Florida or with the federal government. There could possibly be estate taxes if you own real estate outside the State of Florida. If you’re interested in planning your estate to avoid probate, please call me at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.