Law Brief: Alexis Gruttadauria and Rich Schoenstein Discuss Why You Need an Estate Plan
In Ripple v. CBS Corporation, et. al., the Florida Supreme Court held a surviving spouse is entitled to recovery for wrongful death under the Florida Wrongful Death Act (the Act), codified at Fla. Stat. §§ 768.16-768.26...more
So, you have remarried. Perhaps it has been 30 months; maybe 30 years. When you got together the guy/girl moved into your crib. It’s always been titled in your name and it’s the house you got in your divorce from No. 1. Now...more
Back on July 26 we wrote about how trusts have become a new territory within the divorce landscape. At the time the press was just starting to write about California Senator Diane Feinstein’s troubles with the trust her...more
I received a call recently from a colleague looking to refer a client for a divorce. Our firm had done estate planning for the client and spouse, thus we were not eligible to represent either party in a marital break up as...more
We are increasingly seeing more disputes over the validity of marriages in probate litigation. A recurring fact pattern is that a romantic partner will attempt to orchestrate a marriage to the second partner, who is suffering...more
This writer, in his more grandiose moments, likes to think himself a legal historian. And in these “fantastic” moments he will (a) write in the third person and (b) indulge in comparing modern law with that of olden days....more
Permitting an injured plaintiff’s spouse to claim loss of consortium where the injury in question occurred prior to the marriage would enable the spouse to marry into a cause of action. Florida’s common law rejects this...more
Marriage is supposed to be “until death do us part,” but after one spouse dies, is it possible for a court to declare a marriage invalid (annulled)? It can happen, as a Nebraska widower recently learned, but only in certain...more
An estate planning rule of thumb is to review (and, if necessary, revise) one’s estate plan in light of major life events. Such events include a marriage, birth of a child and a divorce. A second marriage also calls for an...more
The Surviving Spouse’s Right of Election vs. A Former Spouse’s Rights in the Decedent’s Estate under a Separation Agreement - Spousal separation agreements sometimes provide for one party to make a provision in his or her...more
July Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-family Loans and Split Interest Charitable Trusts (Rev. Rul. 2018-16) - The July § 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs,...more
Estate planning is about formalizing your intentions for what will happen when you pass away. For those in a second marriage with children from a prior relationship, it is even more important to spell out your intentions and...more
With a specific statute (Domestic Relations Law §236(3)) mandating that pre-nuptial agreements must be acknowledged, and with a specific statutory form of acknowledgment (Real Property Law §309-a(1)), it is surprising that...more
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the landmark case of Obergefell v. Hodges. The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires all states to license a...more
Two significant events in 2013 underscored the nexus of marriage and taxes that make it possible for many couples to radically simplify their estate planning. ...more
Effective October 1, 2013, the elective share rules for persons who die domiciled in North Carolina have been simplified, but for many married couples the simplification will mean a substantial change in the property rights...more