Attorney Spiro Verras Interviewed by Andrew Chen for Hack Your Wealth

Interview with Spiro Verras, hosted by Andrew Chen. Current-law notes by Spiro Verras. Updated October 26, 2026.

In this Hack Your Wealth interview, first published by the host on October 6, 2020, Spiro Verras joined Andrew Chen to discuss wills, trusts, probate, planning for incapacity and family business succession. Verras Law originally shared the recording on October 8, 2020.

Corrections and current-law context

Authority during life and planning for children

Relevant discussion: 05:24–10:56

A living will, a health care surrogate designation and a durable financial power of attorney serve different purposes. They can be coordinated, and some provisions may be combined in one document, but Florida does not require a single combined form. A parent may qualify as an adult child’s health care proxy under the statutory priority rules when the circumstances permit; turning 18 does not make that parent the child’s automatic agent for every purpose. A Florida power of attorney generally takes effect when signed, subject to limited exceptions.

Parents can nominate a guardian for a minor child, but a nomination does not itself make the appointment or override a surviving legal parent’s rights. The court applies the governing law. Verras Law does not currently accept guardianship matters; we work with trusted colleagues when clients need that assistance.

Sources: Florida health care proxy rules; Effective date of a power of attorney; Guardianship appointments.

Intestacy and appointment of a personal representative

Relevant discussion: 12:45–18:49; 31:29–33:34

Florida’s intestacy rules do not simply stop at grandparents. Depending on who survives, they can reach aunts, uncles, their descendants and, in the statutory fallback, relatives of the last deceased spouse. A will usually makes the intended gifts and personal representative clearer, but family relationships can still matter for notice, spousal rights, homestead and other questions.

In an intestate estate, the surviving spouse has the first statutory preference for appointment, followed by a person selected by a majority in interest of the heirs, then the heir nearest in degree. This is not a simple head count. A will’s nominee also remains subject to qualification and court appointment. Nonresident eligibility is limited to the relationships specified by statute. Bond may be waived by the will or the court, or required by the court. Once appointed, the personal representative acts as a fiduciary under the law; the appointment does not confer unrestricted ownership of everything the decedent owned.

Sources: Intestate heirs; Appointment preferences; Nonresident eligibility; Bond requirements.

Probate deadlines, creditor claims and the time administration takes

Relevant discussion: 18:56–23:24; 33:34; 46:54–50:01

The usual Florida claims deadline is the later of three months after first publication or, for a creditor required to receive notice, 30 days after service. Known or reasonably ascertainable creditors require appropriate service. Exceptions, extensions and the separate two-year bar must also be considered; publication alone does not extinguish every possible claim.

In a formal administration, the inventory is generally due within 60 days after letters are issued, unless the court extends the time. It is not normally postponed until the creditor period ends. There is no universal five-month minimum for every Florida estate. The assets, claims, taxes, disputes and available procedure affect the schedule. Qualifying estates may use summary administration or another limited procedure.

A funded revocable trust can reduce the property passing through probate, but it does not erase valid debts. Trust property can be responsible for estate obligations when the probate estate is insufficient, subject to applicable exemptions and rules. Florida also requires a notice of trust for the trusts covered by the statute; avoiding a full probate does not necessarily mean that no court filing is required.

Sources: Claims deadline; Probate Rules 5.200, 5.230 and 5.340; Revocable trust responsibility for estate obligations; Notice of trust.

Probate attorney fees are not mandatory statutory prices

Relevant discussion: 23:56–25:48; 46:54–49:44; 56:01–56:51

Florida does not impose a mandatory minimum fee or require every probate attorney’s fee to be a percentage of the estate. The statute supplies a presumed-reasonable schedule for ordinary services in a formal administration, permits another agreed method, and expressly recognizes negotiation. Ordinary services, additional work and costs should be explained in the engagement. The recording’s fixed-fee and automatic-percentage descriptions should not be treated as a price quote or as a legal requirement.

The choice between a will-centered plan and a funded living trust should consider the family’s needs, continuity, court accountability, the property involved and administration costs together.

Sources: Attorney compensation and required disclosures.

Wrongful-death proceeds and a surviving spouse’s rights

Relevant discussion: 26:32–30:22; 33:45–34:43

Florida wrongful-death law distinguishes damages payable to statutory survivors from damages recoverable for the estate. A will generally does not redirect a survivor’s individual statutory recovery. The allocation and the nature of the damages must be examined before deciding whether a will could have changed a particular result.

A will also does not automatically eliminate an estranged spouse’s rights while the marriage continues. Elective-share rights, homestead, exempt property and other protections may apply unless validly waived or otherwise inapplicable. Similarly, a simplified example in which expenses exhaust a spouse’s residuary gift does not resolve those separate rights. These issues call for coordinated advice about the marriage, the estate plan and the particular recovery. Verras Law does not currently accept personal injury or medical malpractice matters and works with trusted colleagues when clients need help in those areas.

Sources: Wrongful-death damages; Surviving spouse’s elective share; Waiver of spousal rights.

Will formalities and handwritten wills

Relevant discussion: 35:16–36:39

A handwritten Florida will can be valid if it satisfies the applicable execution requirements. For a conventional paper will, that ordinarily includes the testator’s signature at the end, or a properly directed signature, and execution with two attesting witnesses under the required presence rules. Florida does not invalidate a will merely because a witness is interested, although independent witnesses are a sensible practice. A notary is not required for the basic validity of every paper will; self-proof is a separate matter.

A will that is not self-proved does not invariably require both witnesses to travel to a courthouse. The law and probate rules provide ways to establish the will, including an appropriate oath taken by commission. Electronic wills have additional requirements. The Louisiana comparison also needs the date requirement: an olographic testament must be entirely written, dated and signed in the testator’s handwriting, subject to Louisiana’s rules.

Sources: Florida will execution; Interested witnesses; Probate Rule 5.230; Louisiana Civil Code article 1575.

Homestead protection, the O.J. example and a home held in trust

Relevant discussion: 36:42–38:54; 40:35–41:46; 50:45–53:46; 57:59

Florida’s constitutional homestead protection has substantial exceptions. A valid mortgage, property taxes, certain construction and association liens, federal tax enforcement and other recognized exceptions may reach a home. Federal bankruptcy rules can also limit protection. The IRS is not the only creditor that can ever reach a homestead.

The O.J. Simpson timeline also needs correction. His Nevada imprisonment lasted about nine years, not 17. His Florida home was subject to mortgage foreclosure while he was incarcerated, and later reporting based on Miami-Dade property records identifies a 2014 sale. There was no Florida homestead for his children to inherit when he died in Nevada in 2024. The house illustrates protection from an unsecured civil judgment alongside exposure to a mortgage lender.

A trust can hold qualifying homestead, but the label revocable or irrevocable does not settle the issue. The resident’s present ownership or beneficial rights, occupancy and other requirements matter, and creditor protection is distinct from the property-tax exemption. Restrictions involving a spouse or minor child also require attention. At death, protection may pass to a qualifying spouse or heirs; not every intended recipient or direction to sell produces the same result. The actual will, trust and deed must be read together. The updated homestead article explains these distinctions in detail.

Sources: Florida Constitution, Article X, section 4; Homestead tax interests held through trusts; Cutler v. Cutler; 2014 sale reported from county property records.

Evidence, recordings and interpreting an ambiguous will

Relevant discussion: 38:54–44:26

Careful drafting, private discussions with the client and sound contemporaneous records can help establish intent and capacity. They do not guarantee that a challenge will be dismissed, and an attorney’s testimony does not decide the case automatically. A recording may help or hurt depending on what it shows. Obtain the necessary consent before recording a private conversation; Florida’s interception law must be considered.

A court also does not necessarily award all property to the first person mentioned in an ambiguous will. The instrument is read as a whole under the governing construction rules, and the available remedies depend on the evidence and law. The anecdote in the interview should not be read as a universal rule about conflicting gifts.

Sources: Florida will construction; Florida interception and consent rules.

Trust terminology, funding and a pour-over will

Relevant discussion: 46:54–57:40

A revocable living trust is a trust created during life that can be amended or revoked as provided by its terms and governing law. “Living trust” is broader and can also describe an irrevocable trust. “Grantor trust” describes income-tax treatment and is not another name for every revocable trust or every living trust.

Funding requires the correct steps for each asset. A general assignment may transfer appropriate untitled personal property, but it does not replace every deed, account-registration requirement or contractual consent. Retirement accounts generally remain in the individual owner’s name during life. A trust may be named as a beneficiary when appropriate, but that decision requires separate distribution and income-tax analysis.

A pour-over will can direct probate property to a trust; it does not make that property bypass probate. A payable-on-death designation can serve a different purpose from lifetime trust ownership, especially for incapacity planning. A successor trustee must establish authority, obtain required documents and carry out administration duties; a death certificate does not guarantee immediate liquidation of every asset.

Sources: Trust creation; Certification of trust; IRS trust income-tax instructions; IRS retirement distribution rules.

Trust formalities and the limits of trustee discretion

Relevant discussion: 57:59–1:01:11

Florida requires the testamentary provisions of a revocable trust executed by a Florida domiciliary to satisfy the state’s will-execution formalities. Real-property trusts and other trust arrangements can involve additional or different requirements. The interview’s statement that every trust requires two disinterested witnesses, a notary and all trustees signing together is too broad.

A trustee accepts office through the method required by the trust or, where permitted, by conduct indicating acceptance. Physical attendance at the settlor’s signing is not a universal legal requirement. Even broad trustee discretion must be exercised in good faith, consistently with the trust’s purposes and the beneficiaries’ interests. It does not place administration beyond judicial review. Special-needs provisions likewise require the appropriate structure and administration; the label alone does not preserve benefits.

Sources: Revocable trust execution; Acceptance of trusteeship; Discretionary powers; Federal Medicaid trust rules.

Irrevocable trusts, self-settled trusts and transfers before a claim

Relevant discussion: 1:01:42–1:06:22; 1:20:40–1:23:25

The statement at approximately 1:22:47 that a person can fund an irrevocable trust for that person’s own lifetime benefit and thereby keep all creditors away is not correct as a general statement of Florida law. Under Florida Statutes section 736.0505, a settlor’s creditor generally may reach the maximum amount that can be distributed to or for that settlor’s benefit, subject to the statute’s specific rules. Simply calling a trust irrevocable does not create protection.

A trust funded by someone else for a beneficiary can present a different analysis. Proper spendthrift or discretionary provisions may provide protection, but there are exceptions, and distributions or withdrawal rights can change the result.

Nor is every transfer before a lawsuit safe. Florida’s fraudulent-transfer law can protect present and future creditors and examines intent, value and financial circumstances. A transfer shortly before death can also raise capacity, execution, creditor, tax and public-benefits issues. Timing and the absence of a pending lawsuit do not establish that a transfer is valid.

Sources: Claims against the settlor; Spendthrift provisions; Spendthrift exceptions; Fraudulent transfers.

Trust income taxes and tax-planning flexibility

Relevant discussion: 1:01:42–1:06:22; approximately 1:12–1:14

Irrevocable does not automatically mean a separate income-taxpayer, a mandatory separate taxpayer identification number in every case, or higher income taxes in every case. An irrevocable trust can be a grantor trust for income-tax purposes. A nongrantor trust can face compressed tax brackets on retained income, while distributions and other rules affect who reports particular income.

Tax planning is also possible through a will, including testamentary trusts and appropriate marital or charitable provisions. A trust protector or trust director has only the powers conferred by the governing document and law; the title does not permit any change the settlor later requests. Modification and decanting require their own authority and tax analysis.

Sources: IRS trust classification and reporting; Methods of creating a trust, including by will; Florida Trust Code.

Estate and gift tax figures and annual-exclusion gifts

Relevant discussion: 1:04–1:06; 1:16–1:17; 1:25:12–1:31:44

The dollar figures in the 2020 conversation are historical. For 2026, the federal basic estate and gift tax exclusion is $15 million per person, and the ordinary annual gift-tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient for qualifying present-interest gifts. A gift above the annual exclusion can require reporting without producing an immediate tax payment.

A married couple should not assume that the survivor automatically receives twice the individual exclusion. Prior taxable gifts, ownership, citizenship, marital-deduction rules and a timely portability election can matter. State estate or inheritance taxes may also require review. Gifts to trusts do not automatically qualify for the annual exclusion; the beneficiaries’ rights and the trust’s administration matter. These figures and conditions should be checked for the year of the gift or death.

Sources: IRS gift-tax guidance; IRS estate-tax guidance and portability.

Land trusts, revocability and privacy

Relevant discussion: 1:06:22–1:09:09

A Florida land trust is not inherently irrevocable. Its revocation, direction and transfer provisions depend on the agreement and applicable law. A trustee cannot simply move property anywhere, return it to the settlor or decant it based only on broad discretion.

A land trust may keep a beneficiary’s name out of a routine deed search. It does not promise complete anonymity, immunity from lawful disclosure or confidentiality for every communication merely because a lawyer serves as trustee. The documents used to establish a successor trustee’s authority also depend on the transaction. A certification of trust can provide specified information without disclosing every dispositive term; recording the entire trust or all succession provisions is not a universal requirement.

Sources: Florida Land Trust Act; Certification of trust.

LLCs, professional liability and business continuity

Relevant discussion: 1:09:51–1:14:05; 1:24:03–1:26:28

An LLC or professional corporation does not protect a lawyer, physician or other professional from liability for that person’s own negligence or wrongful acts. Florida’s professional-entity statute expressly preserves that responsibility, including specified conduct under the person’s direct supervision and control. For other businesses and rental property, entity protection also has limits, including personal wrongdoing, guarantees and applicable equitable remedies. Insurance remains a separate part of the plan.

An operating agreement or buy-sell arrangement can support succession, but it should be coordinated with the actual ownership, estate documents and any professional-licensing restrictions. Economic ownership and authority to manage a business are different. A trust holding an LLC interest does not eliminate those distinctions or guarantee that every possible creditor is limited to one parcel of real estate.

Sources: Professional personal liability; LLC liability; Transfer of an LLC interest.

Family entities, charging orders and valuation

Relevant discussion: Approximately 1:14:05–1:17:50

Florida gives charging-order protection to qualifying LLC interests, but the remedy is not identical for every entity or situation. In a single-member LLC, a court may allow foreclosure of the member’s interest when the statutory conditions are met. Secured-creditor rights, fraudulent transfers and other equitable remedies also remain relevant. A family entity does not place all family wealth beyond everyone’s creditors.

The statement that a charging-order creditor automatically owes income tax on undistributed partnership earnings is too categorical and should not guide planning. The actual rights acquired and the applicable federal tax rules require analysis; issuing a tax form does not create a guaranteed tax burden for a creditor. Valuation discounts and annual gifts of family interests also require support from the facts, restrictions, valuation rules and gift-tax requirements. A family relationship or an entity label does not itself establish a discount or tax exemption.

Sources: Florida LLC charging-order statute; IRS partnership tax guidance; IRS gift-tax and valuation guidance.

What happens to revocability and beneficiary protection at death

Relevant discussion: 1:18:16–1:20:40

A sole settlor’s power to revoke ordinarily ends at death, but a joint trust may remain revocable in part by a surviving settlor under its terms and governing law. It is too broad to say that every part of every revocable trust becomes irrevocable at the first death.

A will can create a testamentary trust or direct probate property to an existing trust. That does not eliminate probate or valid estate obligations. A properly designed continuing trust may protect an inheriting child from some creditors, but the terms, the child’s powers, the type of claim and the treatment of distributions matter. Irrevocability alone is not the test.

Sources: Revocation and multiple settlors; Trust creation; Spendthrift provisions; Exceptions.

QPRTs, life insurance trusts and retained-interest trusts

Relevant discussion: 1:27:11–1:31:44

A qualified personal residence trust can transfer a future interest in a home while reserving use for a specified term. It involves a taxable-gift valuation and detailed requirements. If the transferor dies during the retained term, estate inclusion can defeat the intended estate-tax benefit. It is not sound to subtract the full house value from a hypothetical estate and assume the tax disappears without considering the gift, available exclusion, ownership and survival requirements.

An irrevocable life insurance trust can provide liquidity and may keep insurance proceeds outside the insured’s taxable estate when properly structured. It does not prepay estate tax or guarantee exclusion. Incidents of ownership, proceeds payable to the estate and the three-year rule for certain transfers of an existing policy require attention. Estate-tax inclusion and income-tax treatment of the death benefit are separate questions.

A GRIT is a grantor retained income trust; a GRAT is a grantor retained annuity trust. These arrangements retain specified interests subject to technical valuation and qualification rules. They are not a general way to keep unrestricted lifetime ownership and control while removing all tax consequences. The appropriate plan depends on the family and the assets, rather than a net-worth figure alone.

Sources: Personal residence trust requirements; Retained-interest estate inclusion; Insurance proceeds and incidents of ownership; Three-year inclusion rule; Qualified annuity interests.

Planning that reflects your life now

The lasting point of the conversation is that a useful estate plan coordinates the people you trust, the property you own and the choices that matter to you. Our current estate planning guide and probate overview provide a starting point. Contact Verras Law, P.A. to discuss your circumstances.