A woman, diagnosed with end-stage cancer, sought to get her affairs in order. She owned her home, and she had children she wanted to provide for after her death. She decided to sell her home to provide some liquidity for her care while she was still living and to provide cash for her children after she passed. Toward […]
In general, your estate planning documents set forth how your assets will be distributed, whom you trust to act as your fiduciary, and what provisions you would like for your loved ones. In essence, they communicate to the world how you want decisions to be made when you are no longer able to make them […]
Providing for your children, your two-legged children, is important. It is so important, that even if you never seem to get around to creating formal estate planning documents, the State of Florida has your back. The law assumes that parents who die intestate—without a valid will or trust—still want to provide for their children. Toward […]
There’s an old saying that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So, what really happens if you do not have any estate planning done? Statutory Defaults. One obvious benefit of estate planning is to exercise your right to decide various matters related to yourself and your estate, such as: Who will make […]
Ladybird deeds are popular devices for transferring real property. Homeowners may use a ladybird deed to designate a family member or other heir to inherit the property on the death of the homeowner. These deeds provide numerous other benefits as well. What Is a Ladybird Deed? Some thirty years ago, a law professor created a hypothetical […]
Clients sometimes request irrevocable trusts for estate tax avoidance, creditor protection, or other purposes. Because of the loss of control associated with irrevocable trusts, clients often ask whether anything can be done to address future uncertainties. One answer to this question is the use of a ‘Trust Protector’. Properly structured, a trust with a Trust […]
Occasionally, we receive questions from clients about Florida’s escheat process. The primary concern clients have is that the State of Florida – rather than the clients’ children and other heirs – will receive the clients’ estate when the clients die. Happily, this is generally not the case. What is the Escheat Process? Simply put, the […]
Beneficiary designations are a common element in estate plans. We have opportunities to set up these arrangements when purchasing life insurance, setting up retirement plans and bank accounts, and on other occasions. It is a good idea to slow down and think about beneficiary designations. Correctly used, beneficiary designations can be a great convenience that […]
As perhaps a universal rule, clients desire to retain the flexibility to change their estate plans. Changes may become desirable as family members are born or die, as estates increase or decrease, as desires and objectives change, and as other life events occur. Irrevocable trust planning refers to a subset of estate plans in which […]
Most estate planning clients have questions about Trusts. What are they? What are they for? Do I need one? This blog entry will answer some of those questions. By definition, a Trust is a relationship between three persons: The person who creates the Trust, often called the Settlor, Grantor, or Trustor The person who manages […]