As a Florida lawyer, I’m often asked how long does it take to probate in Florida? The answer is 4 months as long as everything goes smoothly. Here’s why: Three basic things take place during probate: assets are located, creditors are paid, and what’s left is distributed to beneficiaries. If the decedent was organized,...
The 2012 Florida Legislature has okayed robot cars in Florida: “a motor vehicle that has the capability to drive the vehicle on which the technology is installed without the active control or monitoring by a human operator.” The technical term is “autonomous vehicle”, but...
Today is moving day. Being paperless means I don’t need rooms full of filing cabinets and boxes of closed files. I don’t need large desks with surface area to spread out documents. I don’t need walls of bookcases filled with law books. All I...
The mortgage follows the note. So, if the note becomes unenforceable, does the mortgage become unenforceable? The Florida Probate Code provides a 2-year statute of limitations on creditor claims, in addition to the 3-month statute of limitations on claims by reasonably ascertainable creditors. If...
Florida no longer recognizes springing powers of attorney, unless they were signed before 10/1/11. That’s the effective date of the amendment to Florida Statutes Chapter 709, which says a power of attorney is exercisable when executed. The former law allowed powers of attorney to...
When a Florida resident dies, the Florida Constitution protects the surviving spouse and minor children from becoming homeless by prohibiting the decedent from leaving the homestead to anyone else. It says “he homestead shall not be subject to devise if the owner is survived...
When a Florida resident dies without a will, the decedent is said to have died intestate, and the Florida Probate Code states who will inherit the estate. If there is a surviving spouse and no descendants, then all goes to the surviving spouse. If...
The world is paperless. Finally. At last. After decades of talk. The only time there’s paper is when you hit the print button on your email. The problem is most people use their email inbox like a big toy box. The newest toys are...
Florida construction liens could further erode the Florida housing market values if owners fail to comply with the Florida Construction Lien Law. This letter is written to provide you with some basic information about the Florida Construction Lien Law and and how to protect...
Florida landlords have for many years been allowed to include a provision in their leases prohibiting construction liens (mechanics liens) for construction ordered by their tenants. This is not always fair to the contractors who do the work and don’t get paid, especially when...
The owner of real property in Florida must record and post a notice of commencement before a construction contractor begins work on a project that will improve the property. Failure to record the notice of commencement with the Clerk of Court in the county...
When a Florida resident dies, the Florida probate court issues letters of administration to a person named as personal representative in a last will and testament or to a person having priority in the Florida Probate Code. The letters of administration is the name...
When a Florida resident dies without a will, they are said to die intestate. When a Florida resident dies with a will, they are said to be testate. A will names beneficiaries who receive the estate assets after payment of expenses, taxes and claims...
Rich Uncle Buck in Florida always told you he left you some money in his will, but when he died no one could find his will. Would his Florida lawyer have a copy? The answer is, most likely, yes. The problem is it’s hard...
Pinellas County Florida real property law attorney Jim Martin provides legal advice and representation for owners, sellers and buyers of land, buildings and real estate in Pinellas County or elsewhere in Florida. He is licensed to practice in all Florida counties. In addition to...
A will is a document that is formally signed by an individual in the presence of witnesses stating who will inherit the individual’s assets at death and who will be the personal representative of the deceased individual’s probate estate. A will is also known as...
A trust is a legal arrangement in which an asset is legally owned by one person for the benefit of another person. The legal owner is called the trustee. The beneficial owner is called thebeneficiary. The asset in the trust is called the corpus or principal or res. A...
If a Pinellas County Florida resident dies owning less than $75,000 in assets, then it might be possible for have a shortened form of probate proceeding called summary administration. In a summary administration, the probate court can admit a will to probate, but instead of...
Sometimes Pinellas County probate attorney Jim Martin represents the surviving spouse of a Pinellas County Florida resident who has died. The surviving husband or wife of a Pinellas County deceased person might not be named in the will but still has rights under Florida...
A power of attorney is a document that appoints someone to act for someone else. The person who grants the power is called the principal. The person who receives the power of attorney is called theagent or attorney-in-fact. A Florida power of attorney ends at death. The...
Pinellas County probate attorney Jim Martin provides legal advice and representation for beneficiaries and creditors of estates of decedents who resided or died in Pinellas County or elsewhere in Florida. He is licensed to practice in all Florida counties. In addition to probate matters,...
Sometimes Pinellas County Florida probate attorney Jim Martin represents personal representatives of Pinellas County residents who have died. The personal representative of a Pinellas County probate estate is appointed by the Pinellas County probate court to find and protect the assets of the Pinellas County...
There is no law that says every Pinellas County Florida resident who dies must have a probate proceeding. If the resident owned no asset in his or her name alone and had no creditors, then there might be no need for a probate proceeding....
Many Pinellas County residents own real property in other states. So, a frequent question is: which state law applies when a decedent owns assets in more than one state? The answer depends on two things: 1. Domicile of Decedent. The first question is where...
Pinellas County residents sign living wills to state their desires for medical care and treatment in case they become unable to express their desires in the future. A living will is also called an advance health care directive, and it is often signed with...
When someone dies in Pinellas County, Florida, here are some first steps to take for legal matters: 1. Find Original Will. Find the original, signed last will and testament, then give it to your lawyer. The Florida Probate Code requires that it be filed with...
The most common probate procedure for Pinellas County Florida residents who have died is formal administration. This is a proceeding in the Pinellas County probate court (officially known as the Circuit Court for Pinellas County, Florida, Probate Division) by which the court: admits a will...
Of course, one of the first steps when someone dies in Pinellas County is disposition of the body. This is handled by a licensed funeral home or the Pinellas County Medical Examiner. There is usually no dispute concerning disposition of the body. Usually the...
Sometimes Pinellas County Florida probate lawyer Jim Martin represents a creditor of a Pinellas County probate estate. The Florida Probate Code generally requires that creditors file claims with the probate court within justthree months after notice to creditors is published by the personal representative of...
Sometimes Pinellas County estate attorney Jim Martin represents beneficiaries of probate estates of deceased Pinellas County residents. If the Pinellas County resident died with a will, which is called testate, then the beneficiaries are named in the will. If the resident of Pinellas County died without...
Copyright 2006-2011 by James W. Martin. All rights reserved. Published in ALI-ABA The Practical Lawyer, American Law Institute-American Bar Association, April 2007 Published in The Florida Bar News, Nov 1, 2006, as ”Converting from Paper to Electronic Files” Originally titled “How to Convert from Paper to...
Copyright 2009-2011 by James W. Martin. All rights reserved. Published in ALI-ABA The Practical Lawyer, American Law Institute -American Bar Association, April 2009 I don’t know about your law office, but in mine email carries 90% of what comes in and 90% of what...
Copyright 2006-2011 by James W. Martin. All rights reserved. Published in ALI-ABA, The Practical Lawyer, American Law Institute-American Bar Association, Oct 2007 So, you scanned all the papers in those client files of yours, converting them into electronic files on your computer, and now...
Copyright 2006-2011 by James W. Martin. All rights reserved. Should I scan my closed paper files as PDF or TIFF electronic files? The federal courts have chosen PDF as the format for electronic filing. Scanner ads tout their capability of scanning directly to PDF. ...
MICROSOFT WORD TIPS AND HINTS FOR LAWYERS Copyright 2003-2011 by James W. Martin. All rights reserved. Microsoft Word Hints for Lawyers Tables Forms Find & Replace File Names Paragraph Numbering How to insert tabs into a table: Ctrl-Tab (Otherwise, tabbing goes to next cell.)...
Copyright 2003-2011 by James W. Martin. All rights reserved. Published in The Florida Bar News, Sep 15, 2003 Published in ALI-ABA CLE Review, December 26, 2003 Now that you have a fancy scanner, you can’t resist digitizing every scrap of paper that arrives or departs your...
My law office has been scanning documents for years, but only recently has available technology provided the ability to scan thousands of pages of valuable documents as images on a portable storage device. While the Apple iPod has drawn consumer attention to technology’s advanced...
I have drafted many legal forms in my law practice and have published many of them in book form through West Publishing. Back in the days of standalone word processors and WordPerfect DOS, we could easily set the forms up to merge specific client...
Pinellas County construction lawyer Jim Martin provides legal advice and representation for owners and construction contractors regarding construction on land, buildings and real property in Pinellas County or elsewhere in Florida. He is licensed to practice in all Florida counties. He reviews construction contracts,...
Pinellas County business attorney Jim Martin provides legal advice and representation for owners of businesses in Pinellas County or elsewhere in Florida. He is licensed to practice in all Florida counties. In addition to business matters, Pinellas County business lawyer Jim Martin provides legal...
