Recent Blog Posts
Who Holds the Pen? When a Power of Attorney Runs Into a Guardianship Case
Many families sign a power of attorney believing it will keep a courtroom out of their lives. Often it does. But when someone questions an agent’s actions or a loved one’s capacity, a guardianship petition can land on top of that document, and the two legal tools suddenly share the same stage. Here is… Read More »
The Witness Who Stood to Inherit: A Small Detail That Can Start a Big Fight
Picture a will signing at a kitchen table. Two people sign as witnesses, and one of them is named in the document to receive the family home. Most people assume that detail sinks the will on the spot. Florida law is more forgiving than that, yet the situation can still turn into a courtroom… Read More »
Two Trustees, One Trust, and No Agreement: What Florida Law Says Happens Next
Picture a parent who names two children as co-trustees. One wants to sell the family property and the other wants to hold it. Emails turn sharp, bills go unpaid, and the beneficiaries wait. Disagreements like this are common, and Florida’s Trust Code has specific answers for how they get handled. Start With the Trust… Read More »
When Doctors Take the Stand: How Medical Experts Shape a Capacity Fight
When a will is attacked because its maker was supposedly too impaired to sign it, the case often becomes a contest between medical opinions. Experienced Pompano Beach estate litigation lawyers know that the strength of those opinions, and how closely they tie to the day of signing, can decide the outcome. The Standard the… Read More »
Decades Together, Zero Inheritance: The Florida Rule Unmarried Partners Overlook
Two people can share a home, a mortgage, and a life for twenty years and still be legal strangers when one of them dies. Many couples assume that enough time together creates the same rights a marriage license would. In Florida, it does not, and the surviving partner can end up watching relatives they… Read More »
The Fine Print That Decides Whether a Premarital Waiver Holds Up
A surviving spouse who signed away inheritance rights before the wedding may assume that piece of paper means nothing now. Relatives on the other side of the family may assume it is untouchable. Florida law lands somewhere in between, and the answer usually comes down to a few technical details that are easy to… Read More »
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 »
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...