As a follow up to the article posted in April 2021 on Florida medical records, we will discuss various issues, aspects, and their consequences.

A common question that clients ask when pursuing a medical malpractice case is, “Can medical records be altered to hide the evidence?” 

Though it seems that doctors and other medical providers accused of malpractice might simply change medical records to protect themselves, there are several reasons why doing so is not reasonable or practical.

Falsifying or altering a medical record is a crime punishable by a fine or even possible license restriction, suspension, or termination. Additionally, altering medical records can make it harder for doctors to prevail in medical malpractice cases. 

Juries do not trust liars, and a questionable change or amendment to a record may imply that something was being covered up. The consequences of discovering an act of altering a medical record are probably worse than the consequences of telling the truth.

Further, it is difficult to get away with falsifying medical records. Usually, in medical settings, documents are shared among a few doctors and nurses, not to mention a patient’s health insurance provider and testing facilities. 

Discrepancies can be spotted among different copies of a document as well as in a patient’s medical bills. With written records, forensic scientists can tell when a document has been changed by looking at inks and indentations in the paper. It is also easy to track changes in electronic documents.

Despite the risks, altered medical records still occur. At times, when a healthcare provider is discovered to have done such an act, difficult cases suddenly become much easier to win. Conversely, cases with much promise are occasionally lost because there is not an accurate record of what happened, preventing lawyers from being able to support their case with sufficient evidence.

Altering a medical record is a crime and can also be used against doctors in medical malpractice cases. However, it is not illegal for medical professionals to make honest updates to records, if they properly mark what they are doing and do not obscure information.

In order to make a correction, physicians should make a new note and include the current date and time. The note should be labeled, “Late Entry,” “Correction,” or “Addendum.” 

The physician or other medical provider should explain the relationship of the note to an earlier one, including the reason for the error, and the source of the new or added information. Records should always reflect who did what. Finally, they should draw a line through the incorrect entry. The old text, however, should still be legible.

If an omission in a medical record is noticed by a physician after a short amount of time and said physician can distinctly remember administering medication or other treatment, a late entry should be made. 

However, if a day or more has passed, it is unlikely that the physician can reliably remember exactly what happened. Filling in missing information after the fact may lead to a misrepresentation of events. As such, filling in omissions may also be an illegal act.

According to Florida Law, a healthcare provider who knowingly or willfully destroys, alters, or otherwise obscures a medical record or other information about a patient to conceal evidence is subject to the following:

For HOSPITAL LICENSING AND REGULATION

 395.302 Patient records; penalties for alteration.—

(1) Any person who fraudulently alters, defaces, or falsifies any medical record, or causes or procures any of these offenses to be committed, commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(2) A conviction under subsection (1) is also grounds for restriction, suspension, or termination of license privileges.

 For NURSING HOMES AND RELATED HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

400.1415 Patient records; penalties for alteration.—

(1) Any person who fraudulently alters, defaces, or falsifies any medical record or releases medical records for the purposes of solicitation or marketing the sale of goods or services absent a specific written release or authorization permitting utilization of patient information, or other nursing home record, or causes or procures any of these offenses to be committed, commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

 (2) A conviction under subsection (1) is also grounds for restriction, suspension, or termination of license privileges.

A medical record is essentially a summary of one’s health history. The primary care physician has a medical record for his patient, but so does every other healthcare facility said patient has used, from specialists to hospitals.

A patient can authorize their medical records be sent to another healthcare provider for continuity of care. Otherwise, one’s medical records will not be consolidated. There has been an effort in recent years to simplify the sharing of medical records between providers through digitization. Electronic health records (EHRs) contain a summary of one’s health and treatment history and can be shared more easily.

However, there still is not a standard nationwide software or process for medical professionals to share information. This means that a patient may have to put in multiple requests if they want a complete copy of their medical record.

Medical records can include the following:

• Personal Information (name, SSN, etc.);
• Family Medical History (risk of high blood pressure, anxiety, etc.);
• Medical History (medical conditions, past illnesses/complaints, pregnancies, immunizations, recreational drug use, allergies, etc.);
• Referrals;
• Examination Results (physicals, x-rays, lab reports, scans, etc.);
• Medication and Treatment History (drugs used, the possibility of drug interaction, success/failure of past treatments, past surgeries, etc.);
• Medical Directives (patient’s wishes about their medical care if they become unresponsive);
• Autopsy Report/Death Certificate.

Although patients have the right to access a copy of their medical records, original documents belong to the healthcare or medical facility which created them. 

Doctor’s offices and hospitals are required to keep medical records on the premises in a secure location. They may share patient records electronically with the subject patient’s other providers if granted permission by said patient. This is not an automatic or instantaneous process, however, which is why a patient is often asked questions about their medical history when they go to a new doctor or facility.

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), patients have a right to receive a copy of their medical and billing records. Facilities do charge a fee for copying and mailing records. However, they cannot legally deny a patient a copy of their medical records because they have not paid their fee. It often takes multiple letters and calls to get the facility to send the records.

In a lawsuit, medical records are essential evidence. Insurance carrier or providers can review medical records and will request a copy if a person files a lawsuit. A patient’s personal representative can also collect their medical records, which is especially useful in cases of wrongful death. 

The government and law enforcement also have the right to access medical records in certain situations.

There exist in various other states verdicts and settlements involving lawsuits which represent examples of falsifying medical records.

One question that gets asked is can a patient sue a doctor for lying in the records? A patient may be able to sue a doctor for falsifying medical records, but the said patient needs actual harm to resulting therefrom to have a reasonable likelihood of a settlement or verdict. In all the out of state examples of falsifying medical records, there was underlying harm to the patient.

NOW, as far as violation of the privacy or confidentiality under the foregoing HIPAA law, it must be noted that there is no private cause of action in HIPAA, so it is not possible for a patient to sue for a HIPAA violation. Even if HIPAA Rules have clearly been violated by a healthcare provider, and harm has been sustained as a direct result, it is not possible for patients to seek damages, at least not for the violation of HIPAA Rules.

What the said patient can do is the following:

File a Complaint with OCR-To report HIPAA violations, a patient must file a complaint to the Office of Civil Rights. Note that said patient can file this complaint in writing by e-mail, mail, or through the OCR Complaint Portal. Requirements for filing a HIPAA Privacy Complaint include:

• File the complaint within 180 days of when a patient discovered that the act a patient is complaining about took place;
• Ensure to provide extensive details about the patient or the affected individual if done in a representative capacity;
• Name the covered entitled or third-party associate involved;
• Provide details of the complaint, describing the acts one believes violate the requirements of the HIPAA rules;
• Once a patient has submitted their HIPAA Privacy Complaint, the OCR will go ahead and investigate the covered entity.

File a complaint with the DOH-Aside from licensing all healthcare professionals practicing in the state, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) is also tasked with reviewing complaints filed against them. If a FIPA-covered entity is found in violation of patient confidentiality, it can be held liable under the data privacy laws. The Florida Information Protection Act of 2014 (FIPA) came into effect on July 1, 2014, expanding Florida’s existing data breach notification statute requirements for covered entities that acquire, use, store or maintain Floridian’s personal information.  

FIPA modified Florida’s existing data breach notification law and applies to commercial and government entities. FIPA applies to all covered entities. A covered entity is a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, cooperative, association, or other commercial entity or government entity that acquires, maintains, stores, or uses personal information.

More importantly, FIPA is an extraterritorial law, which means any company that acquires, uses, stores, or maintains the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of Floridians must comply. This includes covered entities with no physical footprint in Florida. 

File a Report with a Third-Party Payer-Note that patients with Tricare, Medicare, VA, military, or Public Health Service can report or file their complaint to the Office of the Inspector General of that exact agency. However, note that one does not always have the luxury of time when it has to do with filing their complaint after they have discovered a HIPAA violation.

It is advisable the patient file a complaint immediately after discovering the violation. To get the best possible outcome, a patient is recommended to seek the expertise of a competent attorney experienced in this area.

Some common HIPAA violations in the state of Florida include:

Information disclosure: When employees of a covered entity divulge PHI to unauthorized individuals, their employer is believed to have violated HIPAA regulations.

Inadequate PHI access controls: Aside from being barred from disclosing PHI, employees of covered entities are also restricted from accessing patient files if they are not so permitted. Illegal access to patient files is considered a serious HIPAA violation.

Lack of a risk analysis policy: Covered entities are expected to conduct risk analysis regularly to note whether PHI is prone to attacks. Failure to do this is also considered a serious HIPAA violation.

Lack of a risk management policy: Once risks are identified, covered entities are expected to immediately implement a risk management process to manage those risks in a reasonable time- frame. Note that failure to implement a risk management plan is considered a HIPAA violation.

Lack of HIPAA-compliant agreements: Covered entities will also have to enter into HIPAA-compliant agreements with third-party agents, including vendors and business associates. Also, note that not doing this is considered a HIPAA violation.

Failure to PHI on Portable Devices: The inability to protect devices containing PHI, such as using strong passwords and encryption, is noted as a HIPAA violation. Downloading PHI to personal and unprotected devices is also noted as a gross violation in the State of Florida.

Exceeding the deadline for issuing breach notifications: In Florida, covered entities are expected to issue breach notifications within 30 days after finding out about a data breach. Defaulting is essentially considered a HIPAA violation.

Improper disposal of PHI: HIPAA rules mandate covered entities to securely destroy PHI that is no longer needed. Failure to do this is considered a direct HIPAA violation.

Limiting patients from accessing their PHI: Under HIPAA, patients are expected to be granted access to their medical records and get copies on request. Owing to that, denying patients this right is a violation of HIPPA.

Outlined above are some of the few ways to report HIPAA violations in the State of Florida. Although the OCR is the primary organization which receives complaints, a patient can leverage other ways of reporting if they do not feel comfortable going through this type of process.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights – the main enforcer of HIPAA Rules – can issue civil penalties for HIPAA violations. OCR investigates complaints about potential HIPAA violations and investigates data breaches. When individuals are discovered to have violated HIPAA, civil penalties may be appropriate.

Also note that one can report to a supervisor at one’s employment, their company’s Privacy Officer, or the Compliance officer when they suspect there is a HIPAA violation in their organization. Once they receive the complaint, the organization is expected to investigate the violation internally and note whether the complaint meets the threshold for reporting under the breach notification rule.

If one works in healthcare they should have a good working knowledge of HIPAA rules, exercise diligence, and ensure that HIPAA Rules are always followed, but what happens if they violate HIPAA? What are the likely repercussions for accidentally or knowingly violating HIPAA Rules? What happens if HIPAA laws are violated will depend on the type of violation, its severity, the harm caused to others, and the extent to which the subject individual knew that HIPAA Rules were being violated.

If at the time of the violation one was unaware that they make a mistake, the violation was minor, and no harm has been caused, the violation may be dealt with internally. Verbal or written warnings may be issued and further training on HIPAA compliance would be appropriate.

For more serious violations, especially in cases where HIPAA Rules have been knowingly violated, termination is likely. The violation may be reported to licensing boards who can place restrictions on licenses. Suspension and loss of license is also possibility.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, the main enforcer of HIPAA Rules, can issue civil penalties for HIPAA violations. OCR investigates complaints about potential HIPAA violations and investigates data breaches. When individuals are discovered to have violated HIPAA, civil penalties may be appropriate.

There are four tiers of civil penalties based on the level of knowledge that HIPAA Rules were being violated:

Tier 1 applies to individuals who did not know HIPAA Rules were being violated or by exercising a reasonable level of diligence would not have about a violation of HIPAA. The minimum penalty is $100 per violation up to a maximum of $25,000 for repeat violations.

Tier 2 applies to reasonable cause, which has a minimum fine of $1,000 per violation, up to $100,000 for repeat violations.

Tier 3 apples to violations involving willful neglect of HIPAA Rules when the violation has been corrected within the required timeframe. The minimum fine is $10,000 per violation up to a maximum of $250,000 for repeat violations.

Tier 4 is reserved for willful neglect of HIPAA Rules with no attempt to correct the violation. The minimum penalty is $50,000 per violation up to a maximum of $1.5 million for repeat violations.

The maximum penalty, regardless of the tier, is $50,000 per violation with a cap of $1.5 million.

The Office for Civil Rights can refer violation cases to the Department of Justice when there have potentially been criminal violations of HIPAA Rules. Criminal penalties for HIPAA violations are rare, but they are possible when healthcare employees have knowingly violated HIPAA Rules.

The tiers for criminal penalties are:

Tier 1 – Negligence/Reasonable cause – A fine of up to $50,000 and up to one year in prison

Tier 2 – False pretenses – A fine of up to $100,000 and up to 5 years in prison

Tier 3 – Personal gain or malicious intent – A fine up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.

Consequently, when a patient obtains a copy of their medical records, they should thoroughly review them. Occasionally, one might come across an error or learn that confidential information was improperly disclosed, the foregoing may be a general overview of what direction or avenues they may be able to take.

If you have any additional Questions regarding the foregoing or have any legal issue or concern, please contact the law firm of CASERTA & SPIRITI in Miami Lakes, Florida.

Thanksgiving began as an autumn harvest feast and has been celebrated for hundreds of years. The holiday gives the residents of the United States an opportunity to reunite with family and friends, enjoy a traditional meal, and express gratitude, although in recent years, it is also associated with parades, football, Black Friday shopping, and initiates the holiday season.

If one is curious about the time-honored Thanksgiving traditions or wants to navigate the holiday legally, the following are some of interesting history, laws and legislation surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

On October 6, 1941, the House passed a joint resolution declaring the last Thursday in November to be the legal Thanksgiving Day. The Senate, however, amended the resolution establishing the holiday as the fourth Thursday, which would take into account those years when November has five Thursdays.

Throughout U.S. history, Thanksgiving has been held on various days.

In October1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag tribe shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. Colonists in New England and Canada regularly observed “thanksgivings,” days of prayer for such blessings as safe journeys, military victories, or abundant harvests. Americans model their holiday on the 1621 harvest feast shared between English colonists and the Wampanoag. This feast lasted three days and was attended by 90 Wampanoag Native American people and 53 Pilgrims (survivors of the Mayflower). On December 11, 1621, Governor Edward Winslow of the Plymouth Colony wrote a letter in hopes of attracting more colonists. In it, he described a three-day feast shared by the Plymouth settlers and the local Wampanoag people.

There are only two surviving documents that reference the original Thanksgiving harvest meal. Curiously, turkey was NOT on the menu for the first Thanksgiving! They describe a feast of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, a bounty of cod and bass, and flint, a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

Alexander Hamilton once proclaimed: “No citizen of the U.S. shall refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day.” Hamilton’s proclamation became reality, and according to the National Turkey Federation, about 45 million to 46 million turkeys are consumed each Thanksgiving, since it is a bird indigenous and native to North America and thereby set the American table apart, for example, from the British table.

Jefferson signed a proclamation for a day of “Thanksgiving and Prayer,” to be held on December 9, 1779. At that time, the Virginia General Assembly was responsible for formulating state government policies, not the governor. This proclamation did not establish a permanent annual observance.

In 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation designating November 26 of that year as a national day of thanksgiving to recognize the role of providence in creating the new United States and the new federal Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson refused to endorse the tradition when he declined to make a proclamation in 1801. For Jefferson, supporting the holiday meant supporting state-sponsored religion since Thanksgiving is rooted in Puritan religious traditions.

Later, President James Madison proclaimed two Thanksgivings in 1815, one in the spring and one in the fall.

President Abraham Lincoln started the modern practice of a national Thanksgiving holiday. Amidst a raging Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a “Proclamation of Thanksgiving” on October 3, 1863, 74 years to the day after President George Washington issued his first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation. The foregoing began in 1846, by the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, Ms. Sarah Josepha Buell Hale who launched a letter-writing campaign to support her cause for a designated day for the Thanksgiving holiday. Finally on September 28, 1863, she wrote directly to President Lincoln, asking him to use his powers to create the holiday. Her 36-year quest was finally fulfilled. Hale was also a New England-born poet, editor, activist, and philanthropist best known for authoring the poem “Mary’s Lamb,” or “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” as it is known today.

On June 28, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the Holidays Act that made Thanksgiving a yearly appointed federal holiday in Washington D.C. On January 6, 1885, an act by Congress made Thanksgiving, and other federal holidays, a paid holiday for all federal workers throughout the United States.

In both 1939 and 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Thanksgiving on the third Thursday in November, to lengthen the shopping season for Depression-era retailers to help businesses still suffering from the lingering effects of the Great Depression.

Roosevelt’s proclamation proved controversial, with some states continuing to celebrate on the fourth Thursday of the month. In 1941, Congress put an end to “Franksgiving” by passing a joint resolution that officially established the date of Thanksgiving.

At the end of 1941, Roosevelt signed a bill officially making Thanksgiving Day the fourth Thursday of November, regardless of whether it is the last or the second-to-last Thursday of the month.

It is now a well-established tradition that the President is gifted and later pardons a turkey every Thanksgiving. There are conflicting stories about the origins of the turkey pardon because the tradition of presenting the President with a turkey dates back many decades.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln spared a turkey that his son took a liking to, but it was not until 100 years later that President John F. Kennedy spared the first Thanksgiving turkey. The first president to issue a formal pardon to the turkey was George H.W. Bush during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden in 1989.

To detail the turkey pardon history-while the presidential turkey pardon has become a yearly tradition, it is a relatively new tradition. The first turkey spared by a president has been traced to Abraham Lincoln. According to an 1865 dispatch by White House reporter Noah Brooks, Lincoln’s son Tad asked his father to spare the turkey’s life. Tad had adopted the turkey as a pet. Although Lincoln spared this turkey’s life, the turkey was planned for Christmas dinner not Thanksgiving dinner.

Reports of turkeys sent to the White House as gifts at Thanksgiving can be traced back to the 1870’s. Horace Vose, a Rhode Island poultry dealer, began sending turkeys to the White House in the 1870’s until 1913. Vose’s death in 1914 brought about the opportunity for others to send turkeys to the president for Thanksgiving. Official presentations of live turkeys to the president began in 1947 with the National Turkey Federation presenting a live turkey to President Truman. Because of this media notoriety, President Truman is often credited with the first turkey pardon, but he did not pardon the turkey.

In 1963, President Kennedy spared a turkey’s life at the presentation event when he stated, “Let’s keep him going“.  In 1973, during the Nixon presidency, the turkey was sent to Oxen Hill Children’s Farm. First Lady Rosalynn Carter (wife of President Jimmy Carter) sent the 1978 turkey to Evans Farm Inn to live in a mini zoo. It became the norm for the turkeys to be sent to farms during the Reagan administration.

The pardoning became formalized and official in 1989, when President George H. W. Bush pardoned that year’s Thanksgiving turkey. “He’s granted a presidential pardon as of right now — and allow him to live out his days on a children’s farm not far from here.” Since 1989, each year, the U.S. President officially pardons a turkey from the Thanksgiving table.

Currently, Thanksgiving has become somewhat controversial. The holiday may be about being thankful in principle, but it is considered by many as an acknowledgment of the role of colonialism in North America and the displacement and oppression of the Native Americans. Indigenous Peoples in America recognize Thanksgiving as a day of mourning. It is a time to remember ancestral history as well as a day to acknowledge and protest the alleged racism and oppression which they claim they continue to experience to date.

As for the two-day holiday-the Friday after Thanksgiving is a state holiday in California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The foregoing is just a brief and general legal and historical overview of Thanksgiving.                                                                                                                                  

If you have any additional Questions regarding the foregoing or have any legal issue or concern, please contact the law firm of CASERTA & SPIRITI & in Miami Lakes, Florida.

PROBATE is the legal transfer of ownership of assets from a deceased party to the living, whether heirs or beneficiaries, or creditors, etc.

There are three (3) types of probate administration under Florida law: formal administration and summary administration as well as a non-court supervised administration proceeding called “Disposition of Personal Property Without Administration.”

A formal probate administration usually takes 6-12 months under most circumstances to process. This process includes appointing a personal representative (i.e., the “executor” known in other states), a 90-day creditor’s period that must run, payment of creditor’s claims and more.

In Florida, a person can avoid probate by using joint ownership with rights of survivorship, beneficiary accounts, lady bird deeds, and living trusts. Two people may own real estate or personal property as joint tenants with rights of survivorship (or JTWROS).

Formal administration is required for any estate with non-exempt assets valued at over $75,000 when a decedent or deceased party has been dead for less than two (2) years. A formal administration is also required any time that a personal representative is needed to settle the affairs or act on behalf of the decedent.

Probate assets include, but are not limited to, the following: a bank account or investment account in the sole name of a decedent or deceased party. A life insurance policy, annuity contract, or individual retirement account payable to the decedent’s estate.

If an Estate is valued above the Probate threshold, and the assets (everything the deceased party owned) were held in the deceased’s sole name, then Probate will be needed, regardless of whether they left a valid Will.

State laws may vary slightly, but the typical scheme of most states, including Florida (F.S. §732.101 to §732.111), is that intestate property (without a valid Last Will) passes in the following order (sometimes known as next of kin): spouse, lineal descendants (children or grandchildren), parents, siblings (and children of deceased siblings).

An inheritance tax, also called an estate tax, is a tax based on the wealth of a deceased person. Florida does not have an inheritance tax, consequently, the Florida’s inheritance tax rate is zero. A beneficiary of a deceased person in Florida does not owe any state taxes on inherited property.

As far as the need for a lawyer for Florida Probate, the answer should be-Yes. In nearly all cases, a person will need a Florida Probate Lawyer. Except for “disposition without administration” (very small estates) and those estates in which the personal representative) is the sole beneficiary, Florida law requires the assistance of an attorney.

To begin or initiate the probate process, a petition for probate must be filed with the clerk of the Florida circuit court in the county where the deceased testator (creator of the Last Will & Testament) resided and the Last Will must be admitted to probate.

The personal representative of the estate as designated in the Last Will is then appointed by the court. If a Last Will & Testament is not present or a personal representative of the estate is not named, a person may petition the court to be assigned as the personal representative of the estate. If the court appoints someone as the personal representative of the estate, said individual will be issued Letters of Administration by the court. These letters of administration give said person the authority to settle or act on behalf of the estate.

As the personal representative of the estate, one must then provide notice of the probate to all interested parties. This includes notifying beneficiaries and heirs of probate. The personal representative must also publish a Notice to Creditors which notifies creditors of the probate of the estate. If the deceased party died age 55 or older, a Notice to Creditors must also be sent to Florida Medicaid/AHCA (Agency for Health Care Administration), regardless of whether it is known if the decedent received any such benefits during their lifetime. This Notice to Creditors must specify the date by which creditors must give their claims.

The next step for the personal representative is to ensure that the final expenses of the deceased are paid for out of the estate, that any required taxes are paid, and that any outstanding debts are paid from the estate. There is a specific order in which outstanding debts and creditors must be paid with some claims taking precedence over others so that if there is not enough in the estate to cover all debts, those that take priority will be paid first.

Once debts, taxes, and final expenses have been taken paid or resolved, the personal representative of the estate must petition the court for permission to transfer the remaining assets of the estate to the beneficiaries as indicated in the Last Will. If there was no Will present, the assets must be distributed as dictated by Florida state law. The estate is then concluded.

The best way to make sure that the administration of an estate is done correctly is to consult a probate attorney. With a probate attorney assisting the personal representative, one can ensure that they do not miss important deadlines or skip necessary steps in the probate process that could hold up the probate process or cause complications.

Some of the most common mistakes that are made and steps that are forgotten when a probate attorney is not hired to assist with probate include:

• Waiting too long to start the probate process.
• Not maintaining an open line of communication with heirs and beneficiaries of an estate.
• Not keeping an accurate inventory of estate assets.
• Failing to educate oneself on the probate process so that one can know what to expect from the process;
• Procrastinating on any part of the probate process;
• Failing to file a 706 Federal Estate Tax Return when applicable;
• Failure to secure assets of the estate;
• Failing to identify property that is exempt from probate;
• Failing to make the proper notifications to creditors;
• Failure to keep proper accounting of expenses incurred during the probate process;
• Failing to get the “approval or authorization” from the court to distribute assets among heirs and beneficiaries of an estate;
• Waiting too long to market real estate;
• Failing to conclude the estate;
• Paying creditors and claims against the estate improperly or in the wrong order;
• Filing a Last Will that is not the most recent version of the Last Will; and
• Failing to claim or properly utilize the available family allowance.

The foregoing is a brief general overview of the probate process.

If you have any additional Questions regarding the foregoing or have any legal issue or concern, please contact the law firm of CASERTA & SPIRITI in Miami Lakes, Florida.

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An injured victim shoud NOT wait to contact an Attorney after their auto accident.  Uncertainty may be one of the feelings a victim experiences after a car accident.

For instance, a car accident victim may be uncertain about whether they can file a claim for compensation. They may be uncertain about the severity of their injuries. They may think about contacting a lawyer, but they may be uncertain about how a lawyer can assist them. They may be uncertain about the cost of seeking such assistance.

The foregoing is some of the reasons auto accident as well as other accident victims often wait to seek legal assistance. We discuss the reasons in greater detail below and why accident victims should strongly consider contacting an experienced Personal Injury attorney as soon as possible.

Personal Injury attorneys can assist the victim in seeking full compensation for their injuries and damages. Normally, accident clients do not pay upfront fees and costs while the attorney is working on their claims.

If a person is injured in a car crash and needs to go to the hospital to get treatment, it is likely they have a valid claim. This is particularly true in Florida, which is a no-fault state. That means an accident victim can seek compensation from their own insurance policy for medical bills and some other expenses, regardless of fault for the crash.

A person may be uncertain if the other driver can be held liable for the crash. However, it is difficult to be certain without discussing the incident with an experienced attorney. One should not rely on their initial assumptions about the matter or what the at-fault driver or his or her insurance company may say.

If one needs significant compensation, their no-fault coverage may not be sufficient. Consequently, said individual may need to file a claim against the liability insurance carrier of the at-fault driver.

An injury might be much worse than one realizes. Even if the injury appears serious, a person may not realize just how costly the injury can be to treat. Damages are not just medical bills. An accident victim may be unable to work while recovering. Ultimately, said individual may never be able to return to work in the same type of job.

Many times, an injury has a psychological component. Some victims experienced post-traumatic stress disorder. If the injury creates physical limitations, these can cause emotional distress.

No matter what one may think or what insurance companies may express, they are not concerned with providing all the compensation the victim may need. If the injury turns out to be more serious than first realized, and one agrees to an early settlement with the insurance company, said individual may be left footing the bill for additional medical costs and other damages.

Experienced Personal Injury attorneys are prepared to evaluate accident claims and determine all the compensation one may be entitled to receive. Attorneys are prepared to aggressively pursue compensation and usually have the resources and experience to take the subject case to court if the insurance company denies or short-changes the claim.

Many injury victims do not know about all the services an attorney provide for them throughout the legal process. Essentially, an attorney can deal with the legal process on behalf of the accident victim. Accordingly, the lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company, investigate the crash, gather evidence, file legal documents, and take the case to court if necessary.

These services free up the accident victim to focus on medical treatment and healing. While some victims may not make a full recovery, the goal is to make the best medical recovery possible. An accident victim does not need the added burden of filing an insurance claim.

An initial consultation with a Personal Injury attorney to discuss their accident case is usually FREE. Attorneys can explain their fees in the consultation so the client will know what to expect.

Crash victims may make false assumptions about the cost of hiring an attorney. They may think hiring a lawyer for a car crash or accident claim is like hiring a lawyer for other types of matters.

However, Personal Injury attorneys work on contingency, i.e., a percentage of the recovery. What this means is that a client does not pay up front. The attorney does not get paid unless the victim or client receives compensation.

If one waits to contact a lawyer, such delay could hurt one’s chances of recovering full compensation. There are many reasons for the foregoing. An example, over time your memory of the incident can fade. A person could forget crucial details, which makes it harder to build a strong and compelling case. For a car accident in Florida, medical treatment for injuries sustained in the said accident must begin within fourteen (14) days of the subject accident or one’s own auto insurance carrier may deny PIP or other first party benefits (not paying medical bills or wage loss incurred) thereby reducing the recovery for the claim.

An individual may speak with the insurance company representative while waiting and may be tempted or even encouraged to accept a lowball settlement offer. An accident victim could say something to the insurance company that could be used against them. An innocent party may have admitted fault or downplayed their injuries.

An attorney can give a victim of an accident tips on protecting their claim. If one waits to contact a lawyer, they will not have the benefit of these tips. An unrepresented party may do things that hurts their case, such as skipping medical appointments or waiting to seek treatment.

Waiting could also make it harder on the attorney. There are deadlines for reporting, seeking medical treatment as well a Notice Requirements depending on the defendant or responsible third party and a statute of limitations for filing personal injury claims in a Florida court. That means if a lawsuit is not filed within the subject timeframe from the date of the accident, an innocent victim may be barred from doing so and from recovering rightful compensation.

An accident case may not make it to court, but it is important to be prepared for that. The possibility of a lawsuit often causes insurance companies to offer more compensation. The insurance company is only going to be concerned about a potential lawsuit if an experienced personal injury attorney is involved.

If you are injured in an accident, car or otherwise, promptly call the attorneys at CASERTA & SPIRITI for a free consultation of your potential case.

Doing a project, yourself may seem extremely rewarding in many aspects of life, but in more specialized areas such as Estate Planning, it may merit having an experienced attorney assist you.

A great deal of information exists on the internet pertaining to estate planning; however, there are significant shortfalls in attempting to create a plan without an attorney. There are several reasons one should avoid such a move and retain the services of an attorney.

Ultimately, the primary goal of an estate plan is to ensure one’s assets end up in the right hands after one passes away. Consequently, a person’s estate plan will be implemented at the time of one’s death (or at a later date that the subject individual designated in a trust). Therefore, what happens if there are mistakes?

The fact is that at such time it is too late to correct errors after one has died. One’s family and/or  loved ones will not, for the most part, be able to legally amend or correct the mistakes which could lead to one’s assets ending up in the wrong hands. For the most part, changes to an estate plan can only be made up to the point of death or incapacity, and then, after those timeframes, the estate plan becomes irrevocable. A person’s beneficiaries may also lose much of the privacy an estate plan aimed to provide them.

Another key issue here is that if assets cannot be divided or distributed as one really wished, then those loved ones or potential beneficiaries may have to litigate over what they want, or thought should have been the result. This situation can cause unnecessary rifts between loved ones who previously had no reason to put their relationships at risk.

The most recent estate planning trend is online websites, computer programs as well as traditional office supply stores that offer free or inexpensive templates or forms. These templates or forms claim to provide the consuming public with everything they require to get a legal, proper, and secure estate plan in place. Unfortunately, oftentimes, these templates and/or forms often fall short.

These templates or forms claim to be universal or nationally oriented which simply is not how estate planning works. There are too many laws, rules or regulations that differ from state to state and from circumstance to circumstance. For example, witness requirements, acknowledgements, and notarizations which are required and can differ in each state, may cause significant issues after the incapacity or death of the creator of the document or plan.

The safest and most logical way to achieve a proper estate plan is by seeking the assistance of and working with an experienced estate planning attorney. The foregoing is not a self-serving statement since attorneys offer this service but is presented to warn, or at least caution, the public in order to protect them and their surviving family members and/or loved ones from unfortunate results.

Knowing what documents and estate plan to prepare is vitally important and should be timely discussed with an experienced Estate Planning Attorney before an unfortunate event occurs.

If you have any additional Questions regarding the foregoing or have any legal issue or concern, please contact the law firm of CASERTA & SPIRITI in Miami Lakes, Florida.