Category Archives: Estate Planning
Five Things You Should Do To Provide For A Surviving Spouse
The late, great Benjamin Franklin famously said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. Many people spend infinitely more time on tax planning than death planning. Most people don’t want to come face to face with their own mortality. That sentiment is understandable, but given the inevitability of death, irresponsible. No… Read More »
Is the Eternal Youth Of 420 Friendly Seniors Just An Illusion?
Florida’s reputation as a paradise for potheads has a history almost as long as its reputation as a paradise for seniors. Perhaps only California, Amsterdam, and Tangier give Florida a run for its money as 420 friendly destinations. You know what else has been around a long time and is going to stick around… Read More »
Seven Kinds Of Trusts In Florida
The seven most common kinds of trusts in Florida have different specific purposes. But the overall purposes are the same. In most cases, trusts transfer legal ownership of money or other property while leaving the original owner in complete control of that property. Furthermore, property in trust is exempt from the probate process, saving… Read More »
Retirement Age Scientists At A Crossroads
It used to be fun to go out to dinner with your departmental colleagues at the end of the semester, acknowledge that you were well past middle age, and then reaffirm your intention never to leave academia. The acknowledgement of old age ritual would take the form of passing around your cell phones to… Read More »
Understanding The Four Parts Of Medicare Without Quadrupling Your Stress
When you are what our work-obsessed society calls a working aged adult, you feel like you can never catch a break. You spend all your waking hours on your job and your gigs, only to find yourself another day older, with ageless content creators mocking you for being ugly and obsolete, even as they… Read More »
Neglect Of Vulnerable Seniors By Family Caregivers
The horrifying stories of vulnerable seniors abused and neglected by family caregivers are enough to make even the most committed procrastinator get started on his or her estate plan. Last year, Alton Cardwell was arrested after the death of his father Jimmy Cardwell, for whom the younger Cardwell was a primary caregiver, and now… Read More »
What Can Go Wrong With Designating Beneficiaries For Non-Probate Assets?
It can be difficult to get started on big projects; just ask any parent who has struggled to muster the energy to pick up the first piece of clutter in the living room after the kids had a three-day weekend off from school. By contrast, you get a big emotional boost when you accomplish… Read More »
Does It Really Matter If You Choose A Revocable Or Irrevocable Trust?
The most attainable New Year’s resolutions are the ones that require “one and done” actions, as opposed to actions that you must repeat every day. “One day at a time” is your only option if you are trying to achieve sobriety or follow a healthy diet; the things in life that are most worth… Read More »
Does Transferring Property To A Revocable Trust Make Things Worse?
Given the modest amount of effort it takes to establish a revocable trust and the vast amount of time and effort you can save your heirs by establishing one, it is a wonder that not everyone does it. A revocable trust lets you be in control of the assets you transfer to it as… Read More »
The Worst Choices Of Beneficiaries Of Non-Probate Assets
Non-probate assets are the key to saving money on transferring your property to your heirs after you die. Any property that you own solely, and which you have not preserved in the form of a non-probate asset, will become part of your estate and go through probate. This means that the beneficiaries of your… Read More »