Probate Lawyer in Lauderhill

Formally the City of Lauderhill, Lauderhill, Florida is a municipality in Broward County. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, 66,887 people resided there. Lauderhill is a main municipality of the Miami urban region.

Deciding Heirs Without a Will According to Florida Law

Case in Point: Mr. Smith, a Florida Condo Owner Passes Away Without a Will

For example, Mr. Smith possesses some attractive, sunny, seaside Florida real estate, and delays on getting his Florida Last Will and Testament composed. He passes away, and everybody is extremely distraught about his demise. In the middle of their grief, however, a few family members realize that bills are still being sent and soon questions begin to be mentioned about Mr. Smith’s property. Everybody looks for a will. They cannot locate one due to Mr. Smith never creating one.

What should they do? The members of Mr. Smith’s family must obtain an attorney to learn what occurs next since Florida law currently regulates what will occur. Florida intestate law responds to this question and others as to how assets are issued, as well as Florida real estate. This is accurate even though Mr. Smith resides in Topeka, Kansas, and he purchased a Florida condo as an investment, and never came to see the picturesque Sunshine State. Supposing that Mr. Smith had a wife, she is regarded as a living spouse according to Florida law. What occurs next, relies on the answers to different questions. For instance;

• If the Smiths have no children or grandchildren, then Mrs. Smith receives the entire estate.
• If they do have children, things become complicated according to Florida law and many questions arise: were these the progeny of the Smiths? Is this currently homestead property? Was the demise prior to or after October 2011?

Sometimes Everybody Receives Something: The Key Biscayne Condo Case

Hillard J. Aronson passed away some years ago without a will. However, he did not ignore his estate issues: Mr. Aronson made a trust as part of an estate plan. He possessed a condo in Key Biscayne, among other property. When he passed away, there was tons of litigation over his estate as to who received what asset, between Mr. Aronson’s living spouse, Doreen, and his children. The Aronson case offers a good example of how sometimes Florida law can function to the advantage of everybody in these instances.

Here is what occurred. The Aronsons initially resided in Massachusetts, until Hillard and Doreen chose to relocate to Florida. They sold their home in Massachusetts and put the sales earnings into purchasing their Key Biscayne condo. Unfortunately, Hillard Aronson passed away one year after their relocation, leaving Doreen a widow residing in their new Florida condo. The family considered the language of the Hillard J. Aronson Revocable Trust, which possessed the Key Biscayne condo as an asset. That is when a legal fight broke out who received what property.

Here, the Key Biscayne condo was evidently decided by the Florida appeals court to be Mr. Aronson’s homestead according to Florida law, and this condo has passed outside of probate to his wife as a life estate with his two sons getting an interest in the real estate per stirpes. (Florida Statute 732.401(1)). Here, Mr. Aronson’s widow appropriated the Key Biscayne condo as a “life tenant”—she could reside there throughout her lifetime—which meant she was lawfully liable for the everyday costs of the condo. Fundamentally, it was her home for the rest of her life according to Florida law. When she died, the property was passed onto Mr. Aronson’s children. With any luck, that is what Mr. Aronson meant to occur.