Stokes McMillan Maracini & Antúnez is much more than a conventional "trusts and estates" law firm. We offer clients individually tailored tax and personal advice that enhances their ability to transfer wealth to future generations while avoiding unnecessary taxes and family acrimony. We also have extensive experience representing individuals, banks and trust companies who are acting as trustees or personal representatives of Florida estates, in both general administrative matters and litigated or contested matters.
Trusts & Estates in the News
- Can guardianship litigation preempt a will contest? In Florida the law is clear: you can't contest a will until after the testator dies. F.S. 732.518. But that doesn't necessarily mean you can't preempt a will contest before the testator dies. For ....
- George Washington on Arbitration of Probate Disputes For no reason other than I find this bit of historical/T&E crossover trivia interesting, here's a copy of the arbitration clause contained in George Washington's will: But having endeavoured to be ....
- 3d DCA: Probate court reversed for improperly dismissing a petition to probate a lost or destroyed will LaCalle v. Barquin, --- So.2d ----, 2008 WL 3358300 (Fla. 3d DCA Aug 13, 2008) Sometimes even when you're right, you still lose (yet another example of the ....
- 4th DCA: Spotty evidentiary record = reversal of trust beneficiary's attorney's fee award Demello ex rel. Jerome Adams Trust, Irene V. Adams Trust v. Buckman, --- So.2d ----, 2008 WL 2906652 (Fla. 4th DCA Jul 30, 2008) In the linked-to case the beneficiary of a trust successfully sued ....
- New legislation: Payment of trustee attorneys' fees when defending breach of duty claims; trustees have new affirmative notice obligations Payment of trustee attorneys' fees when defending breach-of-duty claims has been a hot topic over the last few years due to appellate decisions out of the 3rd and 4th DCA's that were decidedly ....