Articles Tagged with miami probate lawyer

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq.,  Miami Lakes and Weston Estate Planning Attorney

Its a New Year  and time to file your 2024 Annual Report if you own a Florida LLC (limited liability company), corporation, or partnership.    The deadline is May 1, 2024.    The state will charge you a $400 late fee if you miss this deadline.

The official Florida web site is  www.sunbiz.orgThis site has “Consumer Notices”  to alert you to bogus web sites that try to scam persons who file these reports.

By Phil Rarick,  Esq., and Jacqueline Bowden Gold, Esq., Miami Asset Protection Attorneys

Pros and cons of marriage | The Week UK
If you have creditor threat, do you know what assets are easily exposed to creditors?   Do you know what assets are already protected by Florida law? Take this three minute survey for a quick assessment. Your family will thank you!

1. Is your Florida homestead in your name and spouse as “Tenants By Entireties”?

You will miss this deadline if you do not read carefully – and you may need a magnifying glass to find it.  Around the last weeks of August  you should have received in the mail a “Notice of Proposed Property Taxes” or “TRIM Notice” from your county property tax appraiser.  Buried at the bottom of your  Notice in small print is an important deadline for appealing your tax assessment.

Clearly, the county does not want to encourage you to appeal your property taxes or exemptions.

Note these deadlines:

By: Jacqueline R. Bowden Gold

It is no surprise that Florida is different from the other 49 states.  (Exhibit A: Google “Florida Voter Recount”)  What is confusing to some probate attorneys outside the state – and many within the state –  is our unique Procedure for “Probating” Homestead Property.   Pursuant to Florida Statute 733.607, protected Florida homestead property is not considered a probate asset, so why does it usually require a probate proceeding?

First, we must define what is homestead. Homestead is real property, of no more than 160 contiguous acres outside a municipality, or no more than one-half of an acre of contiguous land in a municipality, owned by a natural person, and the improvements on it. Art. X, §4(a), Fla. Const. In addition, to qualify for homestead it must be the decedent’s primary or permanent residence prior to death and the property must be owned by a natural person.

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Asset Protection Attorney

If you have never checked Florida’s web site for lost accounts and abandoned property you should do so – immediately. You may be pleasantly surprised!

You may think that it is not possible that you have any “unclaimed” property held by the State of Florida – and you could be wrong.

By: Jacqueline R. Bowden Gold

Our office handles probate estates for many out of state residents through our Florida Counsel services. In handling the estates there are three common problems we see with Non-Florida Wills that can easily be avoided by consulting with a Miami Estate Planning attorney. If you have a non-Florida resident who owns Florida real estate an ancillary administration may be required upon their passing.  You should consider these problems when drafting their Will:

  • Naming an out of State Attorney as Personal Representative or Executor.

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Probate Attorney

Florida’s 30% elective share law was completely rewritten in 2001 because the old law could be easily circumvented by placing assets in a revocable trust or using non-probate transfers (e.g. life insurance, IRAs etc.)  In an effort to curtail such tactics, the legislature overhauled the statute and broadened the share.  The result is an expansive elective share that sweeps into the decedent’s “elective estate” many non-probate assets.  See F.S. §732.201 —§732.2155.

What Is Included?  Florida’s  elective share statute retains the 30% share under prior law, but introduces the concept of the “elective estate” (sometimes referred to as “augmented estate”)  that consists of the following property interests under F.S. §732.2035:

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Lakes and Weston Estate Planning Attorney

Note: This 10 Point Checklist is for those persons who have interests in one or more Florida entities, such as a corporation,  limited liability company (LLC),  or  limited Partnership (LP).

1.     Annual Fees.   In January the State of Florida will send notices via email reminding you that annual fees for each corporate entity are due no later than May 1.   Do not wait to get an email notice from the state, as your fees are due regardless of whether you get a notice.   Remember:   The deadline to pay these fees is May 1 without penalty.

By Phillip B. Rarick, J.D, Miami Probate Attorney

Note: Special thanks to Illinois attorney John E. Fish for the following question, which is one of the most frequent questions we receive.

Executive Summary:

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Probate Attorney

You are named the personal representative (or executor in other states) and a loved one or family member has just died.   No doubt these are difficult times, but thankfully there are many resources for help.  The following is a checklist of initial important tasks to help guide you after the funeral or memorial service.

Note:   You are not required to accept the Personal Representative duties.  Before you can legally act on behalf of the estate you will likely need to secure Letters of Administration issued by a Florida probate court that officially designate you as the legal authority in charge of the estate.    Therefore, you should not take action as Personal Representative before you know your duties and what potential claims you may face from estate beneficiaries and creditors.  Consult a Miami probate attorney and see our 10 Basic Legal Rights for Beneficiaries Under a Florida Will.

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