Category Archives: Estate Planning
Life Estate: When You Can Stay in Your Deceased Spouse’s House for the Rest of Your Life, but You Do Not Inherit the House
The law treats your homestead, that is, the house which is your primary and permanent residence, differently from how it treats other possessions, and even from how it treats other real estate properties. For example, in bankruptcy cases, it is often possible to claim a homestead exemption where you get to keep your house… Read More »
Home Mortgages and Florida Estate Law
They say that estate planning is about planning for life, not planning for death. Therefore, when you are in the daydreaming phase of the estate planning process, discussion of home mortgages usually goes something like this: Let’s use the annual gift tax exclusion to give [your child’s name] $15,000 so he can use it… Read More »
Probate Disputes Over Personal Property
Personal property, such as furniture, jewelry, and other items commonly referred to as a person’s “stuff,” is usually the last thing you think about when you write your will or craft your estate plan. Most people are more concerned about the truly big-ticket items, such as real estate properties and bank accounts. In fact,… Read More »
Frequent Flier Miles and Estate Law
Many people dream of spending their retirement years traveling the world. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has put the travel plans of millions of retirees on hold indefinitely. Thanks to an increasing number of COVID-19 vaccine doses being administered, the number of new cases nationwide has been decreasing in the past few weeks, but the… Read More »
Make Your Wishes About Guardianship Known Now, While You Are Healthy Enough Not to Need a Guardian
You have probably heard heartbreaking stories of elder abuse in which a caregiver, in some cases a professional caregiver but in other cases a family member, swindled an elderly person out of large sums of money while the person was in failing health. Perhaps the unscrupulous caregiver talked the victim into changing his will… Read More »
Should You Divide Your Estate Equally Among Your Children?
When your children are little, you can only guess what they will be like as adults? Will the daughter who loves drawing grow up to use her excellent fine motor skills to cook elaborate family meals for holidays, and will she use her eye for details in a career as a forensic scientist, a… Read More »
3 Estate Planning Tools
While there are a lot of variables from person to person, there are three main documents that need to be created when you are setting up an estate plan. Having these documents in place means you will know your wishes will be carried out and your assets will be distributed in the manner you… Read More »
Asset Protection Planning & Handling Debts in Estate Planning, Part II
Any plans for handling the debts of a decedent in estates requires very careful planning with an estate planning attorney, otherwise it is entirely possible that creditors or other sources of liability (such as plaintiffs in litigation) could end up significantly interfering with your inheritance plans for your family and loved ones. We’ve previously… Read More »
Should I Establish a Premarital Agreement Before My Florida Marriage?
There are a variety of reasons why couples decide to establish a Florida premarital agreement or prenuptial. After all, prenups are a way to confirm how assets and inheritance issues will be handled in the event there is a break in the union. A written contract, a prenup is a legal document that is… Read More »
Everything That Can Go Wrong with Third-Party Funded Special Needs Trusts
A recent question submitted to a newspaper publication concerning confusion over a trust that was established in New Jersey for a beneficiary that lives in Florida highlights just how important it is for those who want to set up a trust to work with an experienced estate planning attorney who asks the right questions… Read More »