Articles from Yergey & Yergey, P.A.
Practical guidance on Florida probate, estate planning, guardianship, and trust law — written by attorneys who practice it every day in Orange County and the surrounding circuits.
Probate
The Personal Representative's First Thirty Days: What Florida Law Actually Expects of You
Being named personal representative sounds like an honor. Then the calls start. The bank, the funeral home, three siblings, the neighbor who heard about the will. Most new PRs in Florida have no idea what they are legally on the hook for in the first thirty days. Here is the plain-English roadmap, in order, with the missteps we see most often.
Estate Planning
The Florida Marriage Asset Protection You Already Have (But Probably Just Lost By Accident)
Florida gives married couples a creditor-protection tool that almost no other state provides. It is called tenancy by the entireties, and most people accidentally undo it without ever knowing they had it. Here is what it is, why it matters in Orlando, and the simple paperwork moves that quietly throw it away.
Estate Planning
The $15 Million Decision Most Surviving Spouses Don't Know They Have to Make
When the first spouse dies, the surviving spouse has roughly five years to claim what is, for most Florida professional families, the most valuable tax election on the planet. Most never hear about it. Here is what portability is, why Form 706 is the only way to lock it in, and the white-collar mistakes that quietly forfeit millions.
Probate
The Personal Representative Who Stopped Returning Calls: A $90,000 Cautionary Tale from Casselberry
The brother who volunteered to handle Mom's probate seemed like the obvious choice. He was the oldest, he lived closest, and he said it would be easy. Fourteen months later, his sisters had not heard from him, the house had been quietly listed, and the estate account had a balance neither of them recognized. This is what happened next.
Estate Planning
The Pour-Over Will: The Quiet Safety Net Behind Every Florida Trust
A pour-over will has one job: catch any asset that didn't make it into your revocable trust during your lifetime and direct it there at death. Without one, those assets pass under different rules — often the wrong ones.
Estate Planning
The Empty Trust: Why So Many Florida Families Pay for a Trust and Still End Up in Probate
You can pay good money for a beautiful revocable living trust and still hand your family a probate case. The problem is not the trust. The problem is that the trust is empty. Here is how that happens, why it is so common in Florida, and what to do this week to fix it.
Probate
The Most Underused Tool in Probate Disputes: Why Florida Families Should Know About Mediation
If you're in the middle of a dispute over a loved one's estate, you've probably been told two things: get an attorney and you may end up in court. Both may be true. But there's a third option that gets far less attention — and resolves a remarkable number of estate conflicts: mediation.
Probate
Florida Just Doubled the Small-Estate Probate Threshold: What CS/SB 1500 Means for Your Family on July 1, 2026
Florida's summary administration threshold doubles from $75,000 to $150,000 on July 1, 2026 under CS/SB 1500 — a change that passed the legislature with no opposing votes in either chamber.
Estate Planning
AI v. Attorney: Estate Planning Deserves More Than a Prompt
A lot of people are starting to wonder whether they can just use AI to create their estate planning documents. On the surface, that sounds efficient. Unfortunately, estate planning is about making sure your wishes are actually carried out when your family needs those documents to work — and that requires a licensed Florida attorney who knows the law and knows you.