Great minds and all that....

Florida Law How To: Transferring Title to a Car after the Owner Dies

Many times, I have clients come to see me after the death of a loved one, and the only asset remaining to be retitled is the decedent's car.  Amazingly, Florida law has simplified the process of transferring title to a vehicle after the death of the owner.  It is so easy, I rarely ever have to probate a car.  Here's how it works:

If your name was also on the title, you need to take a certified copy of the death certificate and the title to the tax collector’s office and they will help you remove the decedent's name from the title.

If the decedent's name was on the title alone, and he or she left a Will, and the Will leaves all personal property to you, leaves the car specifically to you, or simply leaves everything to you (“all of the rest, residue and remainder” or similar wording) take the original title, original Will and a certified copy of the death certificate to the tax collector’s office and they will help you change the title. If the Will has already been deposited with the Clerk of Court, take a certified copy of the Will.  Just go to the courthouse and ask for the probate clerk and he or she will be able to make you one.

The most common scenario for transferring title to a car is when a spouse dies;  however, if any other family member left a vehicle to you in their Will, you should be able to do the same thing. If the Will left the car to more than one person like several siblings then everyone must sign off on the title change.Be patient, you might have to make more than one trip to the tax collector’s office to get this done.  Be nice to the clerks at the courthouse and the tax collector's office, they can help you or they can make the process pure misery.

Pro Tips:

Call ahead to make sure you have the required paperwork and are going to the correct location. Also scout out wait time, or the best time to go. In my city, it is best to be waiting in the line at 7:45 a.m. (15 minutes before they open!) to avoid a really long wait.

Redacted Certified Copy
Death Certificate

In Florida, an original certified copy of a death certificate is printed in color and has a raised seal.  You can use a long or short form (with or without the cause of death) for most purposes except life insurance benefit packages. You can get certified copies of the death certificate through the funeral home (the funeral director will advise you on how many copies to order) or if you did not order sufficient copies, the Health Department.

A certified copy of the Will is obtained from the probate clerk at the courthouse where the Will was filed.  A certified copy usually involves a red stamp, sometimes a raised seal, and ALWAYS an original signature of a deputy clerk.  Each courthouse is different, so call ahead to make sure you have the correct form of payment (Cash is NOT always accepted).



Julie

My Website

Copyright Julie Ann Sombathy 2012 All Rights Reserved

U.S. v. Jones Update

In January, I told you about the major U.S. Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v. Jones regarding the use of warrantless GPS tracking devices by the FBI.  Read more about that here.

On Friday, FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann made some comments at a conference on communications privacy regarding the "sea change" which has occurred as a consequence of  the Jones ruling within the FBI.  Immediately after the ruling, the FBI turned off around 3,000 GPS tracking devices, that were in use.  Collection of the devices has proved problematic in some cases, and the FBI has sought court orders allowing them to turn the GPS tracker on briefly to locate the device and retrieve it.

In addition, Mr. Weissmann alluded to the renewed examination within the agency of what constitutes a trespass, and not a legal warrantless search.  Using the most common example there is, Mr. Weissmann indicated that there is now some doubt as to whether the traditional "trash pull" is even legal without a warrant.

We do indeed live in interesting times.

Julie

My Website

Copyright 2012 Julie Ann Sombathy All Rights Reserved

Bar association oyster shuck

Steve Madden boots

Gasparilla, DSW, and The Ones That Got Away

Marriott Channel side View from Our Room
This was Friday Night, before the Invasion
View looking toward the Convention Center

I went to Tampa a couple of weeks ago on our yearly trip to Gasparilla with my best girlfriends, Kim, Lisa, and Beth. I really like Tampa:  if you ever get the chance, Tampa is a great city to visit.  There's lots to do, places to go, and who doesn't love a giant city-wide party where it is okay to dress up like a pirate?   

Invasion of Tampa Bay 2012

Rough Riders leaving EARLY in the morning
around 8:00 a.m., cannons blasting away! 

This year we stayed at the Marriott Channelside.   This hotel is awesome sauce.  The rooms are spacious, the service is spot on, the decor is gorgeous.  And the view channelside is fantastic.  For Gasparilla, the Marriott Channelside is great for seeing the ships leave port Saturday morning and return at noon for the invasion.  The hotel is also located within walking distance of the parade stands.  

Parade view from the stands

Gasparilla was great.  The parade was really fun, and we took home a huge load of beads.  We had tickets this year to sit in the stands, which I highly recommend.  We all had a little PTSD near the end though, since we were in constant defensive mode to avoid a lashing.  Those beads hurt when you don't catch them!  Every time I get hit, I am shocked like I've never been hit before. Weird. Of course, I rocked the pirate boots.  

Pirate Boots!

Gasparilla was a blast, and Tampa is a great city to visit, but straight talk here:  Tampa has the best DSW in the whole entire world right there on Dale Mabry just down from  the Buc's stadium.  For shoe enthusiasts, the DSW on Dale Mabry is Mecca, Nirvana, the Holiest of Holies....in a word:  Heaven. I know whereof I speak.  Whenever I travel to a new city, I always check to see if there is a DSW nearby and if there is, I visit it. Seriously.  

Saturday morning, after partaking of some healing breakfast fare at Denny's, we went straight to DSW.  We were there for less than an hour, but we made it count.  I love that store. Imagine a big space, the size of a ToysRUs with nothing but rows and rows of waist high shoe displays!  The clerks are friendly, helpful, and they actually know how to operate their registers.  They have also never heard of an expiration date.  

Julie and Kim's Take

As I was working my way up the second aisle, I turned to say something to Lisa and caught a glimpse of a shoe I had to have:  a pump with pointy toes and a low heel in a combination of animal print, tartan plaid, and patent leather.  Me and this shoe were Meant. To. Be.

It was like someone had made me my very own bespoke shoes.

Beverly Feldman Marigold Pumps

I nearly vaulted over the display case like OJ Simpson in the old Hertz Commercials until I remembered I'm only 5'5" and not terribly athletic or graceful.  So I settled for warning everyone else off.  I loved these shoes instantly!  Alas, it was not to be;  they didn't have my size.  The clerks at the store even checked to see if I could get them from any other DSW or from DSW online.  NO ONE has my size!                                                                          

Lisa and Beth's Haul                       

Our Combined Plunder from
 a 45 minute trip to DSW

In a cruel twist of fate, they did have Lisa's size.  And being my sister from another mother, you know she bought them and wore them Monday morning!  Ugh.  But I found a cool cross-body bag for my iPad and a pair of color block peeptoe platforms that make me almost six foot tall.    

This was only the luggage for three of us!
There's another DSW bag  next to the cart.

The Bellman called one of the managers (also a DSW shoe lover) when he brought our luggage down Sunday morning.  Apparently, this magnitude of DSW doesn't happen often.   Those guys were pros, they made it all fit;   however, Beth did have to hold her carryon in her lap on the way to the airport.

What a great weekend.  I can't wait until next year.

Cheers!

                                                        Julie

Vince Camuto peeptoe platforms.
They have a 1" platform and a 5.5" heel!

My Website

Copyright 2012 Julie Ann Sombathy All Rights Reserved

Tweet by @LawOnHighHeels via TweetCaster

Fuchsia Waleo platform pumps by Jessica Simpson. We take shoes seriously upstairs at I&S! #JessicaSimpson http://instagr.am/p/GydSEoMGgH/

Shared via TweetCaster

How do I find a probate attorney in Florida?

Someone you know has died and their estate must be probated. Or, you are unsure if there is anything you must do now that your spouse has died, so you begin the process of finding an attorney to advise you. How do you find an attorney who is best suited to assist you?

Probate is an area of practice that requires experience and knowledge in a combination of several areas of law such as real property, inheritance, intestate and testate succession laws, and elder law. In addition, a working knowledge and understanding of federal estate tax laws is a must for any decent probate practitioner. If your case will involve a dispute between beneficiaries or heirs, or a will contest, your chosen attorney should also be well versed in civil litigation.

The phone book is the last place you should look to find a probate attorney.   Ask your friends, your boss, or any other person whose opinion you value.  Call the clerk of the probate court at the county courthouse where you intend to file the probate. The clerk will usually give you a list of names of the attorneys the clerk sees day in, day out. Or, if your county’s court files are online, search the probate cases and look for frequently recurring names as the Petitioner’s attorney. Check the prospective attorney’s discipline record by performing a Member Search on the Florida Bar's website.

Next, schedule a consult appointment with your top choice. Usually, there is a minimal charge for a consult, and sometimes this is waived if you hire the attorney to do the probate.  Ask up front if you need to use a credit card to pay the consult fee because some offices only accept cash or checks.  Make sure to note your appointment time and date, and if you have a problem and need to reschedule, don't wait until the last second to do so, that is just rude and inconsiderate.

Abraham Lincoln practiced
law for over 25 years

Don't expect to speak to the attorney until your appointment time.  As Abe Lincoln said "A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade."  Expecting legal advice over the phone is unrealistic and unfair.  Look at it this way:  it is like going through the drive through and ordering a burger and fries, getting the food, and making an appointment to come back in a week to pay for it.  Who does that?  No one.

Honest Abe Rocking
the Doctor Who

And the lawyer does not owe you anything just because they are a lawyer.  Law school was not exactly fun, and most of us are still paying for it.  If you are calling an attorney that makes so much money he should be happy to give you free advice, what are you doing?  There are plenty of good attorneys in every town who charge reasonable fees for their services.  Why are you calling the most expensive one in town anyway?  If you are, then you can probably afford to pay!  Ah, the never ending paradox.

Once you make an appointment, try to make the most of it by coming prepared with as much information as possible.  Your attorney needs this information to determine the type of probate to file and when to file it, as well as a myriad of other decisions that influence the direction you and your attorney ultimately decide to take.


I think what most people want when they come to see me for a probate, more than anything else, is a sense of resolution, of purpose and direction.  A goal, if you will. The death of someone you know well enough to need to probate their estate is never pleasant, and the practical aftermath can be a confusing morass of legal jargon and paperwork.  Unfamiliar paperwork is never fun to deal with, even in the best of times. So arm yourself with information. This is my Checklist.

Make a list of questions. Go through all of the questions on your list with the attorney until you understand the answer to all of them. Most attorneys will “interview” you about the deceased's assets and liabilities, and testamentary documents (like a will or a trust) as a way to assess the type of probate required. This is why it is important to come to the consultation prepared; the more information you have with you, the better informed your attorney will be and an informed decision is rarely a bad thing.

Ask for a basic explanation of the process and what to expect along the way. Make sure you completely understand the attorney's fee structure, when and how the fee will be paid, and what expenses to expect and when/how those will be paid.

Pay attention to the office, the staff, and the general atmosphere if your appointment is in person. If you are doing business over the phone, the staff should already have prepared you for how the consult will be conducted. Either way, if the office is a mess, the staff is surly, or you just don't feel comfortable with the lawyer, pay the consult fee and keep looking.

Julie
My Website


Copyright 2012 Julie Ann Sombathy All Rights Reserved