The Critzer Law Firm, P.A.

01/12/2024

Debt relief is stress relief. We provide caring representation to individuals facing difficult financial decisions in the areas of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Relief and Chapter 13 Debt Reorganization in the Northwest Florida Panhandle Region. Give us a call today for a free consultation.

11/18/2023

Awesome performance by the South Walton High School Band.

11/06/2023

https://critzerlaw.com/why-should-i-purchase-title-insurance/

Purchasing title insurance in Florida is one of the more expensive components of your Florida real estate transaction, but arguably also one of the most important. If you are getting a mortgage loan to purchase your property, the lender is going to require you provide them with a lender’s title po...

10/20/2023

https://critzerlaw.com/to-survey-or-not-to-survey/

To survey or not to survey, that is the question. If you are purchasing a single-family home, patio home or townhome via fee simple ownership, you should purchase a survey, plain and simple. The survey provides you with a wealth of knowledge, the most important likely is the actual boundaries of you...

10/04/2023

https://www.housingwire.com/articles/re-max-settles-buyer-broker-commission-lawsuits-for-55-million/

RE/MAX joins Anywhere in settling two class action bombshell lawsuits for $55 million. Just KW, NAR and HomeServices remain as defendants.

10/03/2023

07/13/2023

Florida Realtors: YOY single-family home median price flat at $419.9K, supply at 2.7 months. YOY condo median price up 0.9% to $325K, supply stands at 3.6 months.

06/01/2023

https://critzerlaw.com/why-do-i-have-to-pay-florida-documentary-stamp-taxes-when-i-transfer-ownership-of-my-real-property-into-the-name-of-an-llc-that-i-own/

If you don’t have a mortgage or owe any money on the property, you can gift the property to an LLC where you are the only member(s), and only have to pay the minimal Florida Documentary Stamp Tax of $0.70. If there are other members besides those currently on the deed, more than the minimum will b...

05/19/2023

If I have already filed for probate in another state, do I have to file a probate case in Florida if there is personal property of the estate in Florida, but no real property?

When a nonresident decedent dies with a Will in another state and leaves property, other than real property in Florida, which has a value less than $50,000.00, and two years have not passed since the death of the decedent; the personal representative of the estate can file a transcript of the foreign probate case and a copy of the Will to show the beneficiaries.

05/12/2023

Can anybody be a personal representative of an estate in Florida?
All personal representatives in Florida must be “qualified.” Generally, to be qualified in Florida to serve, you need to be the spouse of the decedent or related to the decedent. Mothers, Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, Uncles, Aunts, Nephews, and Nieces of the decedent can also qualify to be personal representatives in Florida. If none of these family members exist, the majority of the beneficiaries can usually select a personal representative.

04/28/2023

Why do I need to file another probate in Florida if I have already filed for probate in another state?

If someone dies in another state and owns real property in Florida, chances are they need to file an Ancillary Probate Administration in Florida. This is true, even if they have already filed a probate case in another state, and even if there is already a personal representative for the estate in another state. Personal Representatives appointed in states other than Florida do not have any authority to sign deeds or other documents related to Florida real property until they have been appointed by a Florida probate court.

04/24/2023

What are documentary stamp taxes? We don’t have those in my state.

Florida Documentary Stamp Tax is due on transfers of real property from a trustee on behalf of a trust or to a trustee on behalf of a trust. The important distinction in these transfers is whether any change in the beneficial ownership of the real property has occurred. The most common trust vehicle present today for estate planning purposes is the revocable living trust. By its nature, it is revocable by the grantor during their lifetime. As a result, the grantor retains a beneficial ownership interest in the assets of the trust. This means that any real property assets transferred to or from the revocable trust, during the grantor’s lifetime, are not subject to Florida Documentary Stamp Taxes, so long as there is no consideration for the transfer.