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December 2017
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Currents
your physical and emotional health to give yourself
time for the grieving process.
Once you feel mentally and emotionally able to do
so, you should schedule an appointment with an
attorney to review all legal documents.
You should bring your Will and/or Revocable Liv-
ing Trust, Deed to your home, certified copy of the
death certificate and date of your marriage. If you
have advanced care directives such as a Living Will,
Durable Power of Attorney and Designation of Health
Care Surrogate, you should bring
those as well.
If everything you owned was in
both names, it is not necessary to
probate your spouse’s Will. How-
ever, regarding your home, it is a
good idea to “Clear the
Title.” The lawyer will prepare
and have you sign a “Continuous
Marriage Affidavit,” which is why
you need the date of your mar-
riage. The Affidavit will state that
you were married on a certain
date and remained continuously
married without divorce until the
date of death. It will provide the
legal description of your home
and indicate your intention to
clear title. This document will be
recorded, along with an Affidavit
of No Florida Estate Tax Due and
the Death Certificate without the
cause of death. Recording these
documents will clear title and
allow you the option to do a new
Deed to avoid probate when you
die.
If you do not have a Revoca-
ble Living Trust, this appointment
will be a good opportunity for you
to discuss the creation of a Trust
and preparation of a Deed in
order to avoid probate on your
home. You can also discuss the
option of a Life Estate Deed to
avoid probate.
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