Florida Elder Law & Estate Planning Blog


We are working at home for you. Stop by and visit!
We are working at home for you. Stop by and visit!
May 6, 2020

UPDATE: June 29. 2020:  Our plans to re-open our physical offices have been postponed due to the recent surge in coronavirus cases. Please check back at this website, where we will announce the new re-opening date.   The Karp Law…

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A Real Dogfight Over Late Painter's Estate
A Real Dogfight Over Late Painter’s Estate
October 26, 2019

You may not know the name George Rodrigue, but you probably know his art. Rodrigue was the New Orleans-based creator of the 1984 “blue dog” painting that has become a pop culture icon. Blue dog has appeared in one form…

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No Vanderbilt-Size Inheritance for Gloria's Sons
No Vanderbilt-Size Inheritance for Gloria’s Sons
July 19, 2019

Socialite and clothing designer Gloria Vanderbilt died on June 17 at age 95, just weeks after being diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer. The great-great granddaughter of railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, at a young age she inherited what would be $35…

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Is Probate Really A Problem?
Is Probate Really A Problem?
July 14, 2019

Floridians are continuously warned about probate. Make sure your family never has to deal with probate court! It’s expensive!  It’s inconvenient! Is all this just hype? Or is probate really a problem? Should you build probate avoidance into your estate…

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Aretha Franklin
Turmoil in Aretha Franklin Estate: She Did Have A Will, After All – Three of Them
May 26, 2019

Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Dies Intestate. Now it turns out that the “intestate” part may not be true. Three handwritten wills were found in Franklin’s suburban Detroit home recently. This development may well complicate matters, not clarify them. Multiple…

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Anthony_Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain not yet divorced when he died, potentially complicating estate plan
August 13, 2018

Marriage and divorce play a big role in the effectiveness of your estate plan. Here’s a prime example. The late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and Ottavia Busia married in 2007. They had a daughter, Ariane. According to Bourdain, their relationship…

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Matthew Mellon
How Should You Plan Your Estate When Your Beneficiary Has A Drug Problem? The Sad Story Of Matthew Mellon
June 9, 2018

Do you have a beneficiary with a drug problem? You are not alone. The Federal Reserve’s Report on the Well-Being of American Households in 2017 reveals that one in five Americans knows someone who is addicted to opioids or prescription painkillers….

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cruz
Probate Proceedings Under Way For Estate of Parkland Shooter’s Mother
April 14, 2018

Nicholas Cruz, the gunman who killed 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, now sits in a Broward County jail. He has admitted to the crime, and his court-appointed defense attorneys told CNN that he…

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Prince
With No Estate Plan, Prince’s Estate Descends Into Chaos
March 11, 2018

Many music critics put the late rock icon Prince in a class all his own: unimaginably talented and prolific, churning out hit after hit such as “Purple Rain”and “When Doves Cry.” But in one respect the Grammy Award-winning musician was…

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nursing home
Steps to take when a Social Security recipient dies
November 6, 2016

Despite all the trauma that accompanies the death of a loved one, certain tasks must be attended to without too great a delay. If the decedent was receiving Social Security benefits, one of the tasks is notifying the Social Security…

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