Estate planning includes the creation of wills and trusts, management of cases through probate court, elder law, and Medicaid planning including the avoidance of the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program.
Florida homeowners who move a homestead into a living trust often fear the transfer will wipe out years of Save Our Homes savings. In most cases it does not. The Save Our Homes cap, found in Section 193.155 of the Florida Statutes, limits yearly increases in the assessed value of homestead property to 3 percent…
Florida is one of the most tax friendly states in the country for passing wealth to the next generation. That reputation has also produced a large volume of outdated advice online about estate planning for wealthy families. High net worth families should beware getting estate planning advice online to handle appreciated real estate, stock portfolios,…
Foreign buyers close on Florida condominiums every day without realizing that United States tax law treats those units very differently than property held by American citizens. Strategies to reduce estate tax would need to be employed in order to make Florida property ownership a viable choice for many non-US citizens. This is because a non-US…
A Florida probate estate runs through one set of hands. Bank accounts, real property, and business interests all sit under the personal representative’s control before beneficiaries receive anything. When the job is handled badly, families often assume there is a single fix, which is to have that person removed. Florida law is more layered than…
Florida offers more than one road through probate. One is short and one is long, and which road an estate takes depends mostly on what the estate is worth. A law that took effect on July 1, 2026 doubling the limit of probate summary administration moved that dividing line a long way. What Changed on…
When a Florida homeowner dies owing money, heirs often fear the family home will be sold to pay the estate’s debts. Usually it will not be. An Order Determining Homestead Status is the probate document that settles the question and puts the protection on the public record. Where Florida Homestead Protection Comes From Article X,…
In Florida, disinherited children may sue for financial damages through a claim of “tortious interference with an expectancy of inheritance” if they can prove a bad actor wrongfully blocked their expected inheritance. While probate court remedies must typically be exhausted first, direct civil lawsuits are permitted when probate cannot provide adequate relief, such as with…
Quick Read Summary (TLDR) Florida probate aw generally prohibits out-of-state individuals from serving as a personal representative of an estate unless they fall within specific, narrow family categories. While residents of Florida are eligible, close friends and business partners living outside the state are disqualified regardless of their capabilities or the decedent’s wishes. To avoid…
Quick Read Summary (TLDR) Florida’s five-year look-back period requires the state to review an applicant’s financial records from the previous 60 months, and any unauthorized asset transfers during this time can trigger a penalty period that delays Florida Medicaid coverage for long-term care. To qualify while protecting assets, families often utilize legal strategies such as…
Quick Read Summary (TLDR) Florida probate is a court-supervised process that verifies a will, gathers a deceased resident’s assets, settles debts, and transfers remaining property to rightful beneficiaries. The three main procedures are formal administration, summary administration for smaller or older estates, and disposition without administration for very small estates. The standard process involves appointing…
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