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Phillip William Gunthert
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Claimed Lawyer ProfileQ&AResponsive Law
Practice Areas
- Estate Planning
- Probate
- Business Law
- Real Estate Law
- Elder Law
- Consumer Law
Additional Practice Area
- General Practice
Fees
- Free Consultation
- Credit Cards Accepted
- Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
Hourly and Flat-fee $0-$250 hour
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- Florida
Languages
- English: Spoken, Written
- German: Spoken, Written
Professional Associations
- The Florida Bar # 0087575
- Member
- Current
Legal Answers
70 Questions Answered
- Q. what can a collections lawyer do with a eviction case from 2016.. Can they take me to jail?
- A: Ignore them, they are lowly collection people, they cannot arrest you, they can try to file a lawsuit and get a judgment and if you do not have anything or make very little, they cant even collect that at all, they are trying to fear-monger you into paying or agreeing to do something that you do not have to do at all probably. Do not let them bully you and do not agree to pay them anything, they are truly just third party debt buyers and probably the low of the low of the low. Tell them you want verification of the debt (not just a generic sheet that says you owe the debt but all the debt statements and how they were calculated and established), proof that hey own the debt, proof that the Statute of Limitations on the debt has not expired, proof of purchase of the debt and that they own the debt, proof it is your debt and you signed for it and you would like to see your signature on that documents, when they get that stuff together, you can ask for about 100 more things just for starters. They will provide and or produce very little of it because they probably do not have it and probably cannot even get it in small portions. The key, as always, fight them every inch of the way on everything. Start with, I am not sure what you are talking about, I owe no debt and please only communicate with me via written post, I want this all documented and do not ever call me again.
- Q. My father had no will and my brother didn't even contact me to let me know he passed he is trying to take it all
- A: If there is no Will then it is not likely that he will be able to take it all. When there is no Will or Trust, then generally the Florida Intestate Statutes (without a Will) apply, this also generally means that his estate (items with his name on it alone or no transfer on death designation) will have to go through probate and those assets will generally go to 1. Surviving Spouse, if no surviving spouse 2. Surviving Children equally. You should check with the clerk of the court in the county where your father lived in order to see if a probate has been opened and or if anything has as of yet been filed, you can check online. I also agree, you need to get a Florida Probate Attorney involved sooner than later.
- Q. I am the only child my father died three weeks ago and his wife is asking me for money I don't know where to start to lo
- A: Very sorry for your loss on the passing of your father and please accept my condolences. Either you or his spouse (I assume his second wife) will have to hire a Florida Probate Attorney and do a probate. Why she is asking you for money presently is beyond me. You will want to look at the deed of the property, it may pass by operation of law based on the way that the property is presently held or it may go through probate or (most likely, a petition to determine homestead may need to be filed). Your dad's Will should determine who receives what, if there is no Will, then the Florida Intestate Statutes (without a Will) shall determine who received what. A surviving spouse has substantial rights in a probate in the State of Florida and you as a child may or may not have any claims. You really have a lot that you need to sort through and address with a probate attorney.
- Q. I need to file a Summary of Administration, my spouse left me the house in his will. He passed away 2017 I pay all mtg
- A: You are going to need to contact a Florida Probate Attorney and they can help you file a Summary Administration, with respect to the house (homestead possibly if it was his/your primary residence), as with all things in South Florida, slow moving and extra work most often. The sooner that you contact a Florida Probate Attorney in order to get this filed and addressed the better based on your urgent need time constraints you have referenced.
- Q. My elderly parents cannot find their legal papers. The estate lawyer was Mowl. We can't find him. Can you help?
- A: You should start by contacting the Florida State Bar as they can often help you in this regard, when an attorney leaves the practice of law, they usually should have a new referring attorney for their clients and papers, the Florida Bar would be a good place to start. Any papers he may have had should have been turned over to the new firm or lawyer taking over his business/clients. Also, there is no registry for Wills or Trusts in Florida, a Will is not turned in to the clerk of the court until a person passes away. If you cannot find these estate planning documents and papers then you likely will need a new attorney to create new estate planning documents.. I will also add, it is usually uncommon for an attorney to retain all the originals, copies surely, but all originals should be turned over to the client for safe keeping with their papers or in a safe or in a safe deposit box or similar. Your best starting point would be the Florida Bar to try to track the previous attorney down or his or her successor.
- Q. I am my parents primary caretaker and I have moved in with them full-time.
- A: Elder Law and Estate Planning, you likely should encourage your parents to speak with an attorney about proper estate planning related to a Will and or Trust, Durable Power of Attorney, Florida Healthcare Surrogate, Living Will, Nomination of Guardian, HIPAA Waiver and so forth.
- Q. Is this live?
- A: No, not live, based on your question and topic a Florida Licensed Attorney may or may not answer your question as it is all basically volunteer time from attorneys in order to point you in the right direction, if you want more details or specifics you will have to follow-up with an attorney and likely hire them or seek someone out to address your specifics.
- Q. 2 sisters inherit a house from their father, it goes through probate court and both sisters names are on the deed.
- A: Unless the deed says otherwise, generally, the 1/2 share of the sister will be distributed to her family through a probate using the Florida Intestate Statutes (without a Will), which generally means her estate through probate will go to her husband and or children. A probate attorney would be needed by the family of your sister.
- Q. is a MI REVOCABLE TRUST LEGAL IN FL
- A: In accordance with the U.S. Constitution under the "Full Faith and Credit Clause", the answer to your question is yes, "states must honor the laws of other states", this applies to Trusts and many other things as long as the Trust was created validly under Michigan Law. I caution, a review of the Trust and related documents would be recommended and appropriate for a number of reasons, as well as an update if it has been a while since it was reviewed or drafted and possibly updates in accordance with the specifics of Florida Law would likely be useful and recommended. Just a few thoughts, when a Trust is drafted it is usually drafted in accordance with the law of the state where you live by that attorney, you can see how that can cause a problem and make things additionally difficult and challenging in Florida if there are any issues that arise (if you need a witness, they are all in Michigan, if you need to interpret the Trust, it is based on Michigan law and so forth). Also, you are in Florida now, the Trust you would want to administer according to Florida Law and therefore be set up specifically according to Florida Law. I will also add, Florida has gone through substantial changes related to Durable Power of Attorney, Florida Healthcare Surrogate and other estate planning documents that may vary substantially from what Michigan requires and this could potentially result in issues if you try to use some of those documents here in Florida. So, while the documents will be valid and accepted in many instances and generally, there are instances where problems could arise and an update and review is likely in order. Moving to Florida is a substantial life change and having the estate planning documents updated according to this substantial change would no doubt be in order.
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