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Business owners face a myriad of issues from what type of business entity is best suited for their needs to planning for retirement. During the last sixty years our firm has assisted our business clients in successfully navigate through the potential legal landmines that face all business owners. We believe that proactive consultation with an […]
Litigation Case Management: Best Practice for…
Chuck Sullivan has been certified as a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Chuck is also a life member of the MillionDollar Advocates Forum, the most prestigious group of trial lawyers in the U.S. Fewer than 1% of U.S. Lawyers are members…MORE Phil Dragonetti Phil is a Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer. Less than 1% of the over […]
No, not usually for probate. Unless a dispute requires a hearing, neither the personal representative nor the estate attorney will actually go to court in Florida. There is no “reading of the will” like you see in old movies. Everything can be done by mail, email, phone, and fax. Florida law requires that virtually all […]
First, be sure there is no will. Just because you do not quickly find a will does not mean there is not one in a safety deposit box or hidden with other papers. However, if the decedent stated before death that he or she had no will, then you can be fairly sure there was […]
Technically, yes, but practically, no. Like many states, Florida imposes an estate tax only on those estates which are taxable under federal estate tax law and only to the extent that state estate taxes reduce federal taxes. In other words, if Florida did not impose this tax, the federal government would get that money, so […]
No, very small estates without real property may qualify for “disposition without administration,” and some estates may qualify for summary administration which is a faster and less expensive form of probate administration. Because Florida’s homestead definition allows unlimited value (but not unlimited acreage), some estates with very expensive homestead property (principal residence), but little else […]
Florida law allows twelve months to complete a formal estate administration. However, unless there are complications or disputes, most nontaxable estates take between four and six months for formal administration, but just a matter of weeks for summary administration. Taxable estates cannot close until the IRS signs off on the Estate 706 Tax Return, which […]
A 30 day “hard” suspension (90 days for a refusal) begins either after the first 10 days following the arrest, or after the initial hardship permit expires after the formal review hearing. During the “hard suspension” you may not drive for any purpose. On a first DUI, after the hard suspension runs, you may apply […]
