Best Estate Planning Attorneys in Country Club, FL

It depends. While Hospice care is palliative, end-of-life care, the fact that a testator was receiving it does not necessarily mean he/she lacked capacity. That said, it is certainly worth investigating because oftentimes at the end of a terminal condition, the condition itself may result in diminished capacity or the patients may be administered heavy narcotics that interfere with their normal capacity.

Probate papers are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, usually for the county where the decedent lived. A filing fee must be paid to the clerk to commence the probate administration. The clerk assigns a file number and maintains a docket sheet which lists all papers filed with the clerk for that probate administration.

Florida public policy protects the surviving spouse and certain surviving children from total disinheritance. Absent a marital agreement to the contrary, a surviving spouse may have homestead rights, elective share rights, family allowance rights, and exempt property rights. In addition, certain surviving children of the decedent may also have homestead rights, pretermitted child rights, family allowance rights, and exempt property rights. The existence and enforcement of these rights is often best handled by an attorney.

The personal representative, the attorney and other professionals whose services may be required in administering the estate (such as appraisers and accountants) are entitled by law to reasonable compensation. The fee for the personal representative is usually determined in one of five ways: as set forth in the will; set forth in a contract between the personal representative and the decedent; as agreed among the personal representative and the persons who bear the impact of the fee; as the amount presumed to be reasonable as calculated under Florida law if the amount is without objection; or as determined by the judge, applying Florida law. Likewise, the fee for the attorney for the personal representative is usually determined: as agreed among the attorney, the personal representative and the persons who bear the impact of the fee, as the amount presumed to be reasonable calculated under Florida law, if the amount is without objection, or as determined by the judge, applying Florida law.

Undue influence, as it is required for invalidation of a will, must amount to over-persuasion, duress, force, coercion, or artful or fraudulent contrivances to such a degree that there is destruction of the free agency and will power of the one making the will. Mere affection, kindness or attachment of one person for another may not of itself constitute undue influence. Heasley v. Evans, 104 So.l 2d 854, 857 (Fla. 2d DCA 1958).