Plot to Steal the Most High-Profile Property in TN Highlights Problems in FL

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By Gary M. Landau, Esq.

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Plot to Steal Most High Profile Property in TN Highlights Problems in Florida | Call (954) 979-6566

CORAL SPRINGS, Florida — The fact that home title theft is a huge problem for all property owners came into full view last month when someone filed a foreclosure action on the beloved former home of Elvis Presley, Graceland—Tennessee’s most famous landmark. South Florida’s real estate and probate attorney Gary M. Landau, who has represented clients for more than 25 years, says this high-profile story highlights the issue in a way that hopefully raises its profile for Florida families.

Despite significant efforts taken in recent years by the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office to combat title fraud and protect property owners, Landau notes that the attempted Graceland swindle described in a May 28, 2024, article in the New York Times underscores the importance of vigilance for all Florida property owners.

Title fraud occurs when someone who does not own a home illegally gains title to it. In some cases, they do this by filing a false deed with the property appraiser. In other cases, they fraudulently create a loan using the home as collateral, then attempt to foreclose the loan and take the home. The latter appears to be the case with Graceland.

“Sadly, attempted title fraud cases are not limited to celebrities, though the high-profile situation with Graceland serves as an urgent reminder to Florida homeowners to remain on high alert for title fraud,” Landau says.

In the Graceland case, a source told the New York Times that “‘his [criminal] ring preyed upon the dead, the unsuspecting, and the elderly, especially those from Florida and California, using birth certificates and other documents to discover personal information that aided in their schemes.’”

Landau has been educating the public on the issue of title fraud for some time. In a statement in December 2023, he said that “all crime is terrible, but stealing the home out from the heirs of deceased individuals is especially unconscionable.”

Rather than everyday Americans, this time the criminal group set its sights on a significant target: the estate of the late Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’s daughter, who passed away in January 2023. The criminal entity claimed that before her death, Presley had borrowed $3.8 million from it, putting up Graceland as collateral, and they now threatened to foreclose on the loan by taking title.

Last September, eight months after Lisa Marie Presleys’ death, papers were filed in probate court in California that included what it claimed was Presley’s debt. As the Times noted, “it included a deed of trust, with a signature represented as Ms. Presley’s, that put forward Graceland as collateral.”

The article further reveals that Clint Anderson, deputy administrator of the Shelby County Register of Deeds, challenged the filing, stating that their office did not have a deed of trust or any other documents on file to “legitimize this company foreclosing on any other property in Shelby County.” The Presley family trust, now led by Riley Keogh, Lisa Marie’s daughter and a well-known actress, is fighting the foreclosure in court, declaring in a legal filing that the loan was a fiction, the company “a false entity,” and the effort to sell Graceland a fraud.

To help homeowners prevent title fraud in South Florida, the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office has implemented several important programs. One is the Owner Alert notification system, a free service that sends email or text notifications flagging potential issues to individuals in Broward County who have signed up for the program through the BCPA website. “I urge all homeowners in Broward County to sign up for Owner Alert,” Landau says.

Broward County’s Property Appraiser’s office also enabled its computer software to share data with the county’s Office of the Medical Examiner and Trauma Services about deceased property owners, a category thieves frequently target, among other actions.

“The implementation of computer software to enable the two agencies to share their data, along with the installation of a team of detectives dedicated to the problem are all excellent steps in the right direction,” Landau says.

Unfortunately, other South Florida counties, including Palm Beach County, do not have such a program.

“As this Graceland story indicates, the seemingly endless number of criminals seeking to exploit the rightful heirs of homeowners emphasizes the need for vigilance,” Landau says. “Anyone who has questions about the title of their home should reach out to a  knowledgeable and experienced Florida real estate and probate attorney on all matters concerning real estate closings, probate, wills, and trusts.”

For more information, visit GaryLandau.com.

About the LAW OFFICE of GARY M. LANDAU, P.A.

With more than 25 years of experience and countless satisfied clients, Gary M. Landau and his team are uniquely positioned to help you with your probate and real estate needs in South Florida. Whether you’re ready to probate a loved one’s estate or to write your own will, or if you are purchasing a home, have inherited a home, or want a closing agent to handle title insurance and all documents for your closing or refinancing, the Law Office of Gary M. Landau is ready to work with you.

Call our office at (954) 979-6566 or complete our online form today to schedule a free consultation. We work with our clients in person, over the phone, or on Zoom.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A will is the simplest way to ensure that your funds, property and personal things will be distributed after your death the way you want them to. Even if you have very few assets, you will benefit from having a will. About half of all Americans die without a will (known in legal terminology as dying intestate). Without a will to indicate your wishes, the court steps in and distributes your property according to state law. A will ensures that your assets will be given to family members or other beneficiaries you designate.

 

Having a will is doubly important if you have young children. One section of the will allows you to designate a guardian for them in the event of your death. Without a will, the court will appoint a guardian for your children, who may not be the person you desire.

Many Florida residents have out-of-state wills, drawn up while they were still living among the hills of North Carolina or the hubbub of New York. If the will was valid according to your old state’s laws at the time you made it, it is still legal in Florida. However, if you are a Florida resident, you may benefit greatly by having a new will drawn up in Florida, because it will likely be more easily admitted to probate.

 

It is important to know that each state has its own requirements for what makes a will a legally binding document. For example, Florida doesn’t recognize handwritten wills that haven’t been witnessed (known as “holographic wills”), or oral wills not put into writing, even if other states okay them. There’s also the matter of Florida estate law. In this state, for example, your surviving spouse is entitled to 30 percent of your net probate estate, regardless of what you say in your will. The spouse may also have a “Homestead” interest in property you share here, even if you want your house to go to someone else. In fact, all real property owned in Florida will be subject to this state’s laws, even if you’re a snowbird maintaining a residence in the state where your will was drawn up. Other peculiarities also exist, which is why a Florida will could make things much easier for your heirs.

 

If you would like to have me review your current out-of-state will, I am happy to do so without charge. If it turns out to be in accordance with Florida state laws and procedures, you can continue to rely on it. If not, however, your heirs would rather you discover that now.

It is a good idea to re-read your will every few years to be sure it reflects up-to-date realities (you may not want to leave your heirloom to a niece you are no longer speaking to, nor have someone be named your child’s guardian if they have taken seriously ill since you drafted your will). It is especially important to reexamine your will if:

 

  • You have gotten married since it was last drafted;
  • You have made bequests to people who have fallen out of your favor or are no longer living (I recently updated the will of a man who had left everything to his first wife, who was long deceased), or you have not included people who are now dear to you;
  • You would like to change the person named as the personal representative of the estate. (Note: Florida law does not allow a nonresident of the state to serve in this position, unless it is an immediate family member or certain other relatives);
  • You have acquired pricey or sentimental items that are not accounted for in your will. Do note, though, that Florida law allows you to attach a separate personal property memorandum to your will, detailing who will get which specific items. This list can be changed whenever you want.

Perhaps I should answer this question with where not to store it: in a bank’s safety deposit box. Although it may seem logical to put this with your other important papers, it is often difficult for your heirs to gain access to the box once you die, since the box is sealed then and must be opened in the presence of a bank employee.

 

One good option is to leave your original will with the attorney who drafted it, making copies for your personal representative and other important relatives and letting them know who has the original. For my clients who prefer that I store their original will, I keep it in a fireproof will vault in my office, or in the vault in my bank.

 

As an alternative, you could store the will in a fireproof box or vault in your own home.

 

Wherever you store it, be sure to let your personal representative and other close relatives know where you have put it!

Probate is when the court oversees your assets and liabilities after your death. During probate, the court makes sure that your will is valid and acceptable; that all debts, bills, creditor’s claims, and taxes are paid from your estate’s assets; and that your remaining assets are distributed to your beneficiaries according to your will (or, if no will exists, by Florida law).

 

Probate usually does take longer than most beneficiaries would like. But in order to ensure that everyone with a right to a claim is included in the process, the court requires several steps. If the size and complexity of your estate are minimal, however, the entire process of probate can take as little as a few months. Larger estates that are subject to IRS estate taxes or those involving litigation on the part of creditors or heirs generally take longer, often one or more years.

 

To speed the process along for simple and small estates, the courts allow a shortened form of probate, known as “summary administration,” which requires much less paperwork and time.

A personal representative (PR) is a friend or relative, or an attorney or bank, who is put in charge of the estate until all matters regarding the probate are resolved. (In other states, this person is sometimes called an executor or administrator.) The job of the PR includes identifying all assets, searching for creditors and paying valid claims, filing required estate tax returns if the estate is large enough (the figure escalates over time, according to Congressional laws), coordinating with the probate court and attorneys, and overseeing the distribution of assets–all done under the guidance and assistance of a qualified attorney.

 

Serving as a PR is an important role, and such a person should be selected with care as to who is most willing and best able to serve in this position. By Florida law, your personal representative must be over 18 years of age, and be a blood relative, your spouse, the parent or child of your spouse, or a Florida resident.

Generally, no. If you co-own all property via such legal structures as “tenancy by the entirety” or by “joint tenancy with right of survivorship” the property immediately passed to you upon your spouse’s death. Proof of death is usually all that is needed to pass such jointly owned title for cars, stocks, and other personal property to the surviving spouse.

 

But if even one asset was held solely in the deceased person’s name, or any property is owned in the form of a “tenancy in common,” that estate will be required to go through probate. If the assets are limited, the shorter, simpler form of probate is generally all that is required.
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