The funds are yours as the joint account holder.

If you did not sign a guarantee or use her credit card the creditors has no claim against you.

You could bring an action for waste and include a request for an injunction that would prevent further waste by forcing the life tenant to make repairs, pay taxes, and otherwise keep the property in good order. A partition action may not always be available depending on how the life estate was... View More

The general rule is that if a person dies leaving a surviving spouse, the spouse would have a life estate in the marital home, which means she has a right to live there until her death. This is despite the fact that you inherited the property. That is the general rule, so your fathers estate... View More

In order for the property to be considered part of the trust, known as corpus, the deed to the property must be in the name of the trust. In this case, it sounds like the settlor, the person who created the trust, had not transferred it to the trust and still owned it in her individual name.... View More

When an IRA is owned by an estate as a result of having no beneficiaries, the estate must go undergo probate administration to transfer those assets in accordance with the terms of a will. Genrally, a will must be admitted to the probate court in order for assets belonging to the estate to be... View More

Inapplicable clauses will generally be ignored and not applied based on what the rest of the Will and Estate plan specifically states. While a Will from another state is a legally enforceable document and usually accepted, there are various things in an estate plan that could cause issues under... View More

I would encourage you to speak with a Florida Estate Planning Attorney and consider possibly creating a Revocable Trust, the options you have mentioned are problematic because of your dad's second marriage and because your son is so young. If anything happened to you it is likely that your... View More

If a property is Homestead Property, creditors such as credit card companies and other lenders will not be able to force the sale of the property, the Homestead Property if handled properly is protected. Any debts not directly attached to the home (like for instance mortgage loan, equity line, work... View More

I am very sorry for your loss on the passing of your mom, please accept my condolences for you and you family at this sad and difficult time. No, that will not work, you will want and need to get a copy of the deed, if your mom's name alone is on the deed the property will need to be probated,... View More

Yes, if they are motivated to try to fight this and make this messy it is possible that they can try to fight this based on claims of undue influence and or similar claims. I am not sure how much luck they will have for a few reasons, there is a divorce which ends the relationship related to the... View More

Actually, a court order might not be necessary. Call the bank's attention to Florida Statute 735.303 and send them an affidavit as set forth in that statute. The statute can be accessed here:... View More

I am very sorry for your loss on the passing of your mother, please accept my condolences for you and your family at this sad and difficult time. A copy of the will should be provided to any beneficiary interested party, if not, Florida Statute requires that it be filed with the clerk of the court... View More

The answer to that is no, you need to get the probate court orders and or have the probate attorney or another attorney follow-up with a letter on your behalf, you should not be paying or be obligated to pay anything.

If you are married in Florida your spouse is legally entitled to certain assets such as your Homestead and certain exempt property. Additionally, if you leave less than 30% of your estate to your spouse he can make an election against your estate. You should contact an estate planning attorney for... View More

No. Only the person named on the title can remove themselves. Your mother needs to consult with a lawyer that practices elder law to see what her options are and if getting a guardian appointed is feasible.

A Florida attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for four weeks. The short answer is that once an ordinary gift is given, it's generally a done deal and not revocable, unless there were conditions. This is posted under a general Uncategorized heading. Attorneys who practice... View More

I cannot give any insight on what benefits will be available while married or after divorce, but if you are both in agreement to get divorced you can file an uncontested or simplified divorce. You should speak with a professional specializing in social security benefits to assist you before making... View More

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answered on Nov 18, 2022

Generally speaking, you're right in thinking your first and best step is to talk to the trustee of the trust.

Depending on the language of the Trust there might be a fair amount of flexibility in how they can issue the distribution checks.

Additionally, in most trusts there is... View More

It likely would trigger a clause to call the loan to be paid in full. Your parents need to consult with a real estate lawyer to determine the best way to handle this. There are options that could help.

You need to retain an attorney now. This is not something that you should try yourself.