Recent Blog Posts
Using An Enhanced Life Estate Can Help You Avoid Probate (And Has Other Benefits)
An enhanced life estate is a type of joint ownership that allows someone to live in their home during their lifetime and transfer it to a beneficiary upon their death. This can be a valuable tool in estate planning, as well as in avoiding probate or the probate courts. You can create a life… Read More »
Using A Guardian Advocate For Special Needs Children And Adults
When an adult is in need of a guardian, it can often be a complicated process. An examination committee must make a determination as to what the ward (the person who will need the guardian) can and cannot do, and the court must determine not only if a guardian is needed, but the extent… Read More »
The Homestead Exemption Is Another Advantage Of Buying A Home In Florida
You may have heard a lot about the protections of Florida’s homestead laws, and about how strong they are compared to many other states. In fact, many people buy property here with the intended purpose of taking advantage of our homestead laws. But what are those laws and when do they apply? What is… Read More »
You Could Lose Your Home To A Squatter If You’re Not Careful
Have you ever heard of what is commonly known as a “squatter?” The term “squatter” is used to describes someone who finds property, lives there, and treats it like their own, even though they shouldn’t be living there. Squatters and Adverse Possession While we may think of squatters as people who are homeless and… Read More »
The Benefits Of Appointing A Preneed Guardian
Should you ever become incapacitated, there is a chance that a court could appoint a guardian to manage your affairs. The extent to which the guardian has control over your affairs depends on your disability and situation, but someone will handle those affairs if that time ever comes. Of course, we all hope we’re… Read More »
Situations Where You Absolutely Should Get A Real Estate Closing Attorney
In any real estate transaction, you should always have an attorney. Even the “easiest” sale or purchase can get very complex and have legal issues you may not anticipate at the start of the closing process. There are often certain indicators that should immediately tell you that you need a competent real estate attorney… Read More »
Be Careful Of Liens When Buying Foreclosed Property
One of the prime opportunities in real estate investing is the chance to buy foreclosed properties. But there are a lot of potential dangers in buying these properties—especially if you don’t understand lien priority and how liens are foreclosed on. What is Lien Priority? Absent a law that makes a lien priority, liens get… Read More »
How Long Does The Probate Process Take?
When you go through the probate process, one of your main concerns may be, understandably, to get the process done as quickly as possible. To some extent you can do that, but like other legal processes, the time frames may be out of your hands. Additionally, like any other legal case, every case is… Read More »
Florida Foreclosure Sales Issues: Servicers Beware
By Amy Kiser, Partner, Gilbert Garcia Group, P.A., Florida Foreclosure Counsel With home values increasing, more and more properties are selling to third party purchasers at foreclosure sales. Additionally, more borrowers are remitting payoffs or reinstating prior to the foreclosure sale. When a borrower remits a payoff or reinstatement the day before the sale,… Read More »
Do You Have The Right Insurance For Your Mortgage?
If you are buying a home, and you are getting a loan and a mortgage on your property, you probably already know that the lender will require that you take out insurance on the property. In an age when property insurance rates are spiking, it may be tempting to find the cheapest policy that… Read More »