This is a special thanks to all of the people who attended the Sixth Annual Solo and Small Firm Conference - The Extraordinary Lawyer: Minding Your Own Business. This program was sponsored and hosted by the Florida Bar General Practice Solo and Small Firm Section.
We had the best speakers - many nationally recognized for their expertise in the areas of technology and practice management. The evaluations were great - we can't wait to do this again. We are already talking to Adriana Linares of LawTech Partners and Debbie Foster of Affinity Consulting about doing a one day tech show in January 2013. We hope you'll join us.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Florida Probate Professional exhibit booth. The winner of our wine basket was Ernie Sellers - congratulations!
Florida Probate Professionals is dedicated to serving lawyers as they grow their probate and trust administration practice. We can provide all the support you need to help you be successful.
We're here to help!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Story of the Week - Homestead Disaster
Here's a good one - and a good reason why families should seek counsel before transferring assets. Mom and daughter, in their ultimate wisdom, decide mom should transfer her homestead property to daughter so they can "avoid probate" when mom dies. Mom executes a quit claim deed prepared by daughter conveying the homestead property to daughter. The deed is never recorded. (I'm sure the gift was never reported either).
Four years later, mom dies. Daughter records the deed. The property appraiser contacts daughter to tell her she owes four years in past real property taxes of more than $20,000 because mom was no longer entitled to her homestead exemption upon the execution and delivery of the deed. (Remember, it is not the act of recording that completes the transfer, it is the delivery of the deed.)
Here's another tidbit. Daughter and mom had an agreement that after mom died, the daughter would "share" the property with her five siblings.
Someone (not sure who) engages an attorney to obtain a Determination of Homestead. Interesting idea except that mom didn't have an interest in the homestead property at death. Attorney somehow manages to get this Determination of Homestead and an Order showing the property vesting in the six children. (Somehow I'm thinking there may be a malpractice claim in here - appears the attorney didn't verify mom actually owned the property at the time of death and now has created a number of additional problems the family didn't have before.)
So now we have a giant mess. Daughter owns the property and the liability for the back taxes. The property now has a cloud on the title because of the Determination of Homestead Order. And, there are five unhappy siblings who haven't received their share of mom's homestead property. And, daughter lost the step up in basis on mom's home due to the transfer before death and may now also face capital gains consequences upon sale.
Brother wants to know if sister can quit claim her interest in the property to him? What would you do and how would you advise this client?
Four years later, mom dies. Daughter records the deed. The property appraiser contacts daughter to tell her she owes four years in past real property taxes of more than $20,000 because mom was no longer entitled to her homestead exemption upon the execution and delivery of the deed. (Remember, it is not the act of recording that completes the transfer, it is the delivery of the deed.)
Here's another tidbit. Daughter and mom had an agreement that after mom died, the daughter would "share" the property with her five siblings.
Someone (not sure who) engages an attorney to obtain a Determination of Homestead. Interesting idea except that mom didn't have an interest in the homestead property at death. Attorney somehow manages to get this Determination of Homestead and an Order showing the property vesting in the six children. (Somehow I'm thinking there may be a malpractice claim in here - appears the attorney didn't verify mom actually owned the property at the time of death and now has created a number of additional problems the family didn't have before.)
So now we have a giant mess. Daughter owns the property and the liability for the back taxes. The property now has a cloud on the title because of the Determination of Homestead Order. And, there are five unhappy siblings who haven't received their share of mom's homestead property. And, daughter lost the step up in basis on mom's home due to the transfer before death and may now also face capital gains consequences upon sale.
Brother wants to know if sister can quit claim her interest in the property to him? What would you do and how would you advise this client?
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Story of the Week - You can't be serious!
If you've ever heard the saying, "boy if they only knew what was going on, they'd be rolling over in their grave," then you know what I'm talking about. Someone has died and something has gone wrong. Could be anything, but this week's story of the week illustrates what planning by design is ALWAYS better than planning by default.
Gentleman dies without a will. Is that a big deal? It is if you aren't survived by a spouse or children. In this case, he was survived by his "heirs at law." As a result, the state of Florida determines his heirs. First we look down the bloodline - are there any children, grandchildren or great grandchildren? If no, then we look up the bloodline - are there any parents or grandparents? If no, then we look to siblings, then nieces and nephews, then first cousins, second cousins and so on.
Our story at hand revealed 40 plus distant heirs living in the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden. Not a lot of property but it still deserved to be distributed to the proper heirs. Many of the heirs didn't want the property - not that simple, some died after our gentleman. Ultimately the property was distributed including a Florida homestead. Perhaps one of the brave heirs will file a partition action and purchase the property?
Gentleman dies without a will. Is that a big deal? It is if you aren't survived by a spouse or children. In this case, he was survived by his "heirs at law." As a result, the state of Florida determines his heirs. First we look down the bloodline - are there any children, grandchildren or great grandchildren? If no, then we look up the bloodline - are there any parents or grandparents? If no, then we look to siblings, then nieces and nephews, then first cousins, second cousins and so on.
Our story at hand revealed 40 plus distant heirs living in the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden. Not a lot of property but it still deserved to be distributed to the proper heirs. Many of the heirs didn't want the property - not that simple, some died after our gentleman. Ultimately the property was distributed including a Florida homestead. Perhaps one of the brave heirs will file a partition action and purchase the property?
Monday, May 7, 2012
Story of the Week - What Can Go Wrong, Will
We thought we'd bring you a Story of the Week - What Can Go Wrong,
Will. Here we plan to illustrate real life examples of what can happen
in the fun and interesting world of probate and trust administration.
Feel free to send us stories of your own.
This week's story is related to multiple beneficiaries. We frequently hear from single clients that they have a simple estate because they don't have a spouse or children. The reality is the exact opposite is true. A single person with no children doesn't generally have a true object of their affection - thus, they end up naming multiple friends, distant family members or charities as their primary beneficiaries. This gets especially interesting when these people are spread out all over the United States and even more interesting when they reside in foreign countries. Complicate that by the fact that we rarely have addresses and contact information for these individuals, so the missing person's hunt begins.
Rick was a single guy - never married, never had any children. He was predeceased by both his mother and father. He was somewhat of a loner, but a genuinely nice person. He was a pretty good client too. He did his estate planning, he kept it updated and he stayed in touch with our firm on a regular basis. Unfortunately, Rick passed away, alone in his home and wasn't discovered for a significant period of time (but we'll hold that story for another day). His named beneficiaries were primarily distant cousins he never had a relationship with.
After locating his seven cousins, most of whom didn't know each other, we proceeded with the estate administration. His personal property was all distributed to a friend and his personal representative/successor trustee so that didn't pose any particular problems (at least none that will make this particular blog post).
Cash is easy to split and distribute. What isn't easy is real property. Rick had several pieces of real estate. A condo, a house and a piece of agricultural property under a long term lease agreement. The house and condo were both sold and the property distributed to the beneficiaries. The property with the lease will now be owned by these seven distantly related individuals (strangers, if you will). We discussed creating an LLC for the real property that would hold the fee simple interest, collect the rents and make distributions to the beneficiaries. Seemed like a logical and cost effective decision. Nope, none of the beneficiaries felt comfortable with entity ownership and want to take their chances with individual ownership.
This story is far from over. This is just the beginning of group ownership - splitting rents, paying taxes, working out disputes. If one person no longer wants to own their property interest, how do they sell? Will the others be interested in buying or will there be an action for partition? Stay tuned...
This week's story is related to multiple beneficiaries. We frequently hear from single clients that they have a simple estate because they don't have a spouse or children. The reality is the exact opposite is true. A single person with no children doesn't generally have a true object of their affection - thus, they end up naming multiple friends, distant family members or charities as their primary beneficiaries. This gets especially interesting when these people are spread out all over the United States and even more interesting when they reside in foreign countries. Complicate that by the fact that we rarely have addresses and contact information for these individuals, so the missing person's hunt begins.
Rick was a single guy - never married, never had any children. He was predeceased by both his mother and father. He was somewhat of a loner, but a genuinely nice person. He was a pretty good client too. He did his estate planning, he kept it updated and he stayed in touch with our firm on a regular basis. Unfortunately, Rick passed away, alone in his home and wasn't discovered for a significant period of time (but we'll hold that story for another day). His named beneficiaries were primarily distant cousins he never had a relationship with.
After locating his seven cousins, most of whom didn't know each other, we proceeded with the estate administration. His personal property was all distributed to a friend and his personal representative/successor trustee so that didn't pose any particular problems (at least none that will make this particular blog post).
Cash is easy to split and distribute. What isn't easy is real property. Rick had several pieces of real estate. A condo, a house and a piece of agricultural property under a long term lease agreement. The house and condo were both sold and the property distributed to the beneficiaries. The property with the lease will now be owned by these seven distantly related individuals (strangers, if you will). We discussed creating an LLC for the real property that would hold the fee simple interest, collect the rents and make distributions to the beneficiaries. Seemed like a logical and cost effective decision. Nope, none of the beneficiaries felt comfortable with entity ownership and want to take their chances with individual ownership.
This story is far from over. This is just the beginning of group ownership - splitting rents, paying taxes, working out disputes. If one person no longer wants to own their property interest, how do they sell? Will the others be interested in buying or will there be an action for partition? Stay tuned...
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Most Estate Plans Just Don't Work
Wow! That's a pretty bold statement for an estate planning attorney to make. Yet it's true. Have you ever heard someone say about a person who died, "Boy, if they only knew what was going on they'd be rolling over in their grave?" Have you ever said that yourself? I have.
The truth is - a lot of things can go wrong after a person dies. It doesn't mean their estate plan wasn't legally or technically correct (that is, if they had one). But it can mean that events have occurred that were unexpected. Some of those events might include a probate or trust administration, the payment of estate taxes, the ongoing operation of a business, estate creditors, family feuds - well, you get the idea. There's no such thing as a simple estate administration.
And, what most people don't realize is that when someone dies, there's stuff to do. Essentially it's three distinct steps: 1. Gather, inventory and value the estate assets, 2. Identify and pay the estate creditors including the Internal Revenue Service, and 3. Distribute the remaining estate assets to the beneficiaries (either individuals or ongoing trusts). It's interesting to note that most people want to start with step 3 - How much do I get and when do I get it?
If you are a Florida lawyer who wants to provide probate and trust administration services to your clients but you don't want to take the time to learn everything you need to know, build your back office support team along with its processes and procedures, then we are here to help.
Thanks to the suggestion of my good friend and colleague, Debbie Roser, the idea for Florida Probate Professionals was born. She is a an experienced solo lawyer practicing in Sarasota, Florida. Her practice is centered around wills, trusts and estates and elder law. She wants to provide a wide range of legal services to her clients but is only one person. There just aren't enough hours in the day. One day, she had a request from a client for probate services. She doesn't want to say no and disappoint her client. She doesn't want to say yes and make herself crazy. Instead, she called me and asked whether The Law Offices of Hoyt & Bryan, my law firm with partner Randy Bryan, would be willing to provide the necessary back office support.
Obviously we said yes - and Florida Probate Professionals became a reality. We are now pleased to offer the same experience and support to you. Call us today for more information 407-977-8080. We're there to help!
The truth is - a lot of things can go wrong after a person dies. It doesn't mean their estate plan wasn't legally or technically correct (that is, if they had one). But it can mean that events have occurred that were unexpected. Some of those events might include a probate or trust administration, the payment of estate taxes, the ongoing operation of a business, estate creditors, family feuds - well, you get the idea. There's no such thing as a simple estate administration.
And, what most people don't realize is that when someone dies, there's stuff to do. Essentially it's three distinct steps: 1. Gather, inventory and value the estate assets, 2. Identify and pay the estate creditors including the Internal Revenue Service, and 3. Distribute the remaining estate assets to the beneficiaries (either individuals or ongoing trusts). It's interesting to note that most people want to start with step 3 - How much do I get and when do I get it?
If you are a Florida lawyer who wants to provide probate and trust administration services to your clients but you don't want to take the time to learn everything you need to know, build your back office support team along with its processes and procedures, then we are here to help.
Thanks to the suggestion of my good friend and colleague, Debbie Roser, the idea for Florida Probate Professionals was born. She is a an experienced solo lawyer practicing in Sarasota, Florida. Her practice is centered around wills, trusts and estates and elder law. She wants to provide a wide range of legal services to her clients but is only one person. There just aren't enough hours in the day. One day, she had a request from a client for probate services. She doesn't want to say no and disappoint her client. She doesn't want to say yes and make herself crazy. Instead, she called me and asked whether The Law Offices of Hoyt & Bryan, my law firm with partner Randy Bryan, would be willing to provide the necessary back office support.
Obviously we said yes - and Florida Probate Professionals became a reality. We are now pleased to offer the same experience and support to you. Call us today for more information 407-977-8080. We're there to help!
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