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Florida law provides statutory rights to a surviving spouse that must be considered when preparing any estate plan. This is critically important when a man or woman marries later in life with children from a prior marriage and a sizable estate. Review this web page and then contact Matthew A. Linde, P.A. for more information.

If you are new to Florida you may have heard the phrase “well you are in Florida now.”  In Florida most of us are immigrants from another state.  Florida has very unique laws concerning descent and distribution.  If you have moved to Florida after setting up an estate plan from another state, or if you are considering marriage after setting up your estate plan, then you must know how the Florida Constitution and the Florida statutes can change your estate plan in ways that you never imagined.  For example, assume that you moved to Florida and purchased a house worth $1,000,000.00.  After moving here, your wife of over forty years passes away.  You are grief stricken for several years.  Then you meet a woman (Lovely) around your age and this is true love.  Lovely has her own estate and does not need your money, and eventually you and your new soul mate are married.  You have an estate plan previously established that gives your house to two (Bill and Jane) of your three children.  Your oldest child (Fred) has been completely cut out of your will for excessive drug and alcohol abuse, and you have not seen him for many years.  You and your wife both have estate plans and have assured each other that neither person wants any assets of the other.

Men have a shorter life expectancy than women and you pass away.  When you pass away your wife, although physically healthy, has dementia and after your death is taken care of by her son (Dick) who has a durable power of attorney.  Bill was nominated as your personal representative and he goes to visit an attorney.  The attorney looks at the will and the title to the homestead property and informs you Lovely has a life estate in the homestead property and upon her death the house will pass as tenants in common to Bill Jane and Fred.  Bill is horrified since you never wanted Fred to have any part of your estate.  This is only the beginning of surprises to Bill because you did not have a pre or post nuptial agreement, and one reason that you should contact Matthew A. Linde, P.A. to avoid this type of problem.

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