I practice in the areas of wills, trusts, real estate, and probate in the St. Petersburg Area, Pinellas County, Florida. I take pride in having received the highest lawyer ratings on platforms such as Justia, Super Lawyers, Martindale, and Avvo. My dedication to this field is also shown through my service on the Florida Bar Probate Rules Committee and as Chair of the St. Petersburg Bar Association Probate Law Section.
In addition to my work in probate law, I am an Adjunct Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law and hold Board Certification in Real Estate Law from The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education. Over the years, I have written nationally-published books and articles for lawyers on real estate, wills, trusts, and probate law. I also serve on the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
I am currently accepting new clients. Each case starts with a phone consultation. As a sole practitioner, I personally handle all calls, ensuring that potential clients can directly discuss their cases with an experienced probate attorney.
- Stetson University College of Law
- J.D.
-
- Stetson University
- B.S.
-
- University System of Georgia - Georgia Institute of Technology
-
- Attorney, Shareholder and President
- James W. Martin, P.A.
- Current
- Adjunct Professor of Law
- Stetson University College of Law
- Current
- 10 Tips for Handling Complex Probate
- The Practical Lawyer, American Law Institute - American Bar Association and The Florida Bar Journal
- 10 Tips for Handling the Complex Real Property Transaction
- The Practical Real Estate Lawyer, American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education
- Do You Need Your Client’s Consent to Disclose Estate Planning Documents?
- The Practical Lawyer, American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education
- Drafting the Contract or Settlement Agreement That Stays Out of Court
- The Best Articles Published by the ABA, General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section, American Bar Association
- Fifty Tips for Drafting Contracts
- The Practical Lawyer, American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education
- Ten Tips for Handling Complex Probate
- St. Petersburg Bar Association Probate Law Section
- Snakes in the Grass: Hidden Real Property Issues in Probate
- St. Petersburg Bar Association Probate Law Section
- Tips for Handling the Complex Real Property Transaction
- American Law Institute CLE
- The Lawyer's Conscience: Professionalism in Writing Contracts and Wills for a Mechanistic World
- The Florida Bar Convention
- Drafting Settlement Agreements (That Stay Out of Court)
- American Bar Association Annual Convention
- Real Estate Law
- The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education
- AV Preeminent Rating
- Martindale-Hubbell
- Hall of Fame
- Stetson University College of Law
- Super Lawyers
- Thomson Reuters
- 10.0 Rating
- Avvo
- 10.0 Rating
- Justia
- Salvador Dali Museum, Inc.
- Board of Trustees and Executive Committee
- Current
-
- Florida
- The Florida Bar
-
- U.S. Supreme Court
-
- US District Court Middle District Florida
-
- Probate
- Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests
- Estate Planning
- Trusts, Wills
- Real Estate Law
- Real Estate in Probate
- Homestead Law
- Real Estate in Trust
- English: Spoken, Written
- Q. My son’s grandmother through a codicil in her will, set up a Trust for him in January 2000. To date he has seen no $.
- A: Florida Statutes Section 736.0813 sets forth some of the information that beneficiaries of Florida trusts are entitled to receive. You can read it here: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0736/Sections/0736.0813.html . In any event, a Florida attorney who handles trust cases should be engaged for your son to provide legal advice, including the possibility of making a demand for this information, as a first step.
- Q. We have a air conditioning unit left on our property by a contractor, can we sell or give this away without repercussion
- A: Florida Statutes Chapter 713 governs construction liens in Florida and allows contractors to obtain liens on real property and also allows materialmen to obtain liens on real property so it is possible that the contractor or its supplier could obtain a lien on the real property. Therefore, the owner of the real property should engage a lawyer to assist in returning to the rightful owner the material that was provided and left on the real property. The rightful owner might be the contractor or it might be the contractor's supplier or perhaps even someone else.
- Q. I'm starting a business as a sole proprietor in Florida do I need a DBA to use my initial and last name?
- A: See F.S. 865.09 here: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0800-0899/0865/Sections/0865.09.html
2013 Hall of Fame Inductee James Martin