Pinellas County Florida Probate Lawyer Blog

Should You Tear Up Your Old Will When You Sign A New One? Should you tear up your old will when you sign a new one? It depends. Here are the general rules you need to think about if you’re a Florida resident: You can sign a last will and testament that names who gets…

If you are holding a Florida resident’s last will and testament, you have just ten days to file it with the Clerk of Court after you learn of the death. That’s Florida law. It applies to the original of the will, not copies. In a recent case, a daughter allegedly failed to file an original…

Can a New York judgment reach Florida assets? Sure. The US Constitution says every state must give full faith and credit to the judgments of every other state. So, a Florida lawyer can take that New York judgment to a Florida court and, by following a statutory procedure, domesticate the judgment so that it is…

It looks easy to form a nonprofit corporation in Florida: just go to www.sunbiz.org, select online filing of a Florida nonprofit corporation, pay the filing fee by credit card, and BAM! you’ve got your Florida nonprofit corporation. But a Florida nonprofit lawyer will tell you that you are missing some things. The online filing of…

Experts report that teenagers know just 800 words but should know 40,000. These future contract signers have grown up on Facebook, Twitter and cellphone texting. They might not understand the words that Florida contract lawyers draft. Therefore, we must draft contracts with fewer words. The ones the kids know. Retired Villanova law professor Michael Walsh,…

What if you found out your neighbor’s fence was really on your lot? Can you make him move it? What if it’s not just a fence but is part of his house or garage? That’s often how boundary line disputes start out. Florida real estate lawyers are likely to see more and more boundary line…

It’s important for all Florida corporations to hold an annual meeting of shareholders and an annual meeting of directors. Even if it’s not a Fortune 500 company. Even if it has just one shareholder. Why? To elect directors and officers, review annual financial statements, and do the other things that corporation shareholders and corporation directors…

When a Florida resident dies, creditors have two years to file their claims for debts. Most beneficiaries of Florida probate do not want to wait two years to collect their inheritance. That’s why Florida probate lawyers publish notice to creditors and then serve notice to creditors on all possible creditors. It shortens the time for…

So, the latest news on the Florida mortgage foreclosure debacle is property owners claiming they never got served with court process for the mortgage foreclosure on their Florida real estate. Can they undo the foreclosure? What if the lender says it tried to serve them but could not find them? Who’s right? It’s not a…

It’s very easy to form a Florida corporation these days. Perhaps too easy. All you have to do is go to www.sunbiz.org, fill in names and addresses, answer a few questions, and charge the filing fee to your credit card. Then whammo you’ve got a new Florida corporation. The problem is if that’s all you…