Recent Blog Posts
Caregiving Doesn’t Always Come With Clear Expectations
Often adult children willingly help aging parents without expecting anything in return. Others are relying on some support because they have put careers on hold, reduced work hours, or spent thousands of dollars on travel, home modifications, medications, or household expenses. The challenge is that support arrangements can be informal. Rarely is there a… Read More »
Five Ways a Florida Trust Can Be Thrown Out in Court
Setting up a trust does not automatically make it bulletproof. Florida law sets specific conditions a trust must meet to be valid, and when those conditions are not met, an interested party may be able to have the trust set aside entirely. Anyone questioning whether a family trust holds up under scrutiny should speak… Read More »
The Legal Lifeline for a Spouse Left Out of a Florida Will
Marriage carries certain financial protections that do not disappear just because a spouse was written out of a will. Florida law recognizes that a surviving spouse may be entitled to a share of the estate regardless of what the will actually says, and this right exists independently of whatever provisions a deceased spouse may… Read More »
What Makes a Florida Trust Legally Vulnerable to Challenge?
Trusts are often described as a cleaner alternative to a will, avoiding probate and keeping family affairs private. But a trust is only as strong as the process used to create it, and Florida law allows beneficiaries and heirs to challenge a trust just as they would a will when something about its creation… Read More »
When an Heir Loses Everything Because of How the Decedent Died
Most estate disputes revolve around what a will says or whether it was properly executed. A smaller but far more serious category of cases asks a different question entirely: did the person set to inherit have something to do with the decedent’s death? Florida law has a direct answer, and it does not leave… Read More »
Can a “No Contest” Clause Actually Backfire in Florida?
Some estate plans include a clause designed to scare beneficiaries into silence. The idea is simple on paper: if you challenge the will or trust, you lose whatever you were set to inherit. It sounds like a strong deterrent. In Florida, it is also completely unenforceable. For families who assumed such a clause would… Read More »
Fixing a Trust Versus Changing One: Why Reformation and Modification Are Not the Same
Families often use the words “fix,” “change,” and “update” interchangeably when talking about a trust that no longer works the way it should. Legally, Florida law treats these situations very differently depending on why the trust needs attention. Trust reformation and trust modification are two distinct remedies. Confusing the two can derail a case… Read More »
When Silence Outlives the Client: Attorney-Client Privilege After Death in Florida
Most people assume that what they tell their attorney stays private forever, even after they pass away. In many respects, that assumption is correct. Florida law recognizes that the duty of confidentiality between a lawyer and client survives death. But when it comes to wills and trusts, there is a carve-out that often surprises… Read More »
When Does Your Power of Attorney Actually Kick In? Florida Says Right Away
Many people sign a power of attorney assuming it works like a light switch that stays off until they need it. The common assumption is that the document will sit quietly in a drawer, powerless, until a doctor declares them incapacitated. That assumption is wrong under current Florida law, and the gap between what… Read More »
The Two-Minute Document That Can Decide a Florida Will Contest
Most people who sit down to sign a will never think twice about the extra page stapled to the back of it. It has a notary block, a little sworn language, and a place for the witnesses to sign again. It takes maybe two minutes to complete. Yet that single page, known as a… Read More »
Mark R. Manceri, P.A. is a boutique law firm that specializes in Estate, Trust and Guardianship litigation. These matters include Will and Trust contests involving lack of capacity, undue influence, forgery, improper execution and tortious interference...