Articles from Yergey & Yergey, P.A.
Practical guidance on Florida probate, estate planning, guardianship, and trust law — written by attorneys who practice it every day in Orange County and the surrounding circuits.
Trust Administration
The Successor Trustee's First 90 Days in Florida
Nobody hands a new trustee an instruction sheet. Florida law starts a sixty-day clock the moment you accept the trust, and most of the mistakes that end in litigation are made in the first three months — usually by someone acting in perfect good faith.
Estate Planning
A Living Will Is About Choice: Understanding Life-Prolonging Treatment and Natural Death in Florida
A Florida living will allows you to express whether life-prolonging procedures should be provided, withheld, or withdrawn under specific medical circumstances while preserving comfort care and pain relief. Few health care decisions are more personal than deciding what should happen if a serious…
Estate Planning
The Florida Elective Share: Why a Second Marriage Can Override Your Will
You can disinherit almost anyone in Florida. You cannot easily disinherit a spouse. Section 732.2065 gives a surviving spouse thirty percent of the elective estate regardless of what your will provides — and in blended families, that is where carefully built plans come apart.
Estate Planning
Sending a Child to College? Three Legal Documents Every Florida Family Should Discuss
Once a student turns 18, parents may no longer have automatic authority to receive medical information or handle financial matters. Learn about three documents Florida families should discuss before college. Moving a child into a college dorm is a milestone filled with checklists. Families…
Estate Planning
Estate Tax Planning in Florida After the $15 Million Exclusion
A $15 million exclusion persuades a lot of people that estate tax planning is over. For families whose wealth is concentrated in a business, a medical practice, or Central Florida real estate that has appreciated for thirty years, it is not. Here is what still matters, and what the current rules actually say.
Estate Planning
Why Original Estate Planning Documents Should Not Be Carried Around Unnecessarily
When preparing for a hurricane, extended travel, a medical emergency, or even an ordinary appointment, it may seem sensible to place all of your important legal documents in a folder and take them with you. Having the right information available is important—but that does not necessarily mean…
Probate
Affidavit of Heirship in Florida: What It Actually Is, and What It Cannot Do
Search "affidavit of heirship" and you will find a great deal of confident writing that describes a Texas procedure and attaches a Florida label to it. Florida uses two very different instruments, and confusing them costs families months.
Trust Administration
Florida Trust Administration Explained: What the Florida Trust Code Means for You
If someone has named you as a trustee — or if you stand to inherit from a trust — Florida law places a surprisingly detailed set of rules on how that trust must be managed. The Florida Trust Code, found in Chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes, governs nearly every aspect of trust administration in…
Estate Planning
What Is a Personal Representative, and Why Is Choosing One Important?
What Is a Personal Representative, and Why Is Choosing One Important? When creating an estate plan, deciding who should receive your property is only part of the process. You should also consider who will be responsible for carrying out your wishes after your death. In Florida, that person is…