If you think its time to review your Florida Will or Florida Estate Planning Documents contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer to review your documents before you begin to melt.
David Goldman of Apple Law Firm, Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog, and NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog became a member of the Estate Planning Professionals network (EPPN) of the NRA. The next EPPN event will be held in conjunction with the NRA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina in May 2010.
As a member of the EPPN, David can modify wills and trusts with language that can be added to Florida Wills and Trusts to make bequests to the national Rifle Association or any of the NRA charities or endowments.
Many of my Jacksonville Estate Planning clients ask me when and how often they should review their Florida Estate Plan. I like to recommend that people take a look at their situation on a yearly basis and if they notice any of the following, they should make an appointment with their Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.
1. Change or contemplation of change in Marital status;We offer complimentary Florida Estate Planning reviews for our clients and those who have used another attorney in the past. Our goal is to provide the best protection for your and your family members. We often find that even some of the most expensive estate plans do not take into consideration the divorce or issues with your children. While some of us like our children-in-laws better than our own children, many do not want the future ex-spouse of our children to inherit 1/2 our our child's inheritance.
2. Death of spouse;
3. You or your spouses' health changes;
4. Death or change in the health or marital status of a trustee, executor, guardian, or beneficiary;
5. If you change your residence or move to another state;
6.. Change in or anticipation of the number of children or grandchildren whether by blood or adoption. Consider step-children also;
7. Any disabilities, health issues, or significant factors on lifestyle of children or grandchildren;
8. If you buy, sell, or contemplate buying or selling a business.
9. Upon the discovery of a hereditary issue that will or might affect you in the future; or
10. Change in tax law or its been more than two years since you reviewed your plan with your attorney.
This morning I woke up ready to leave on a trip to NY with my family. We had had this trip planned for several months and my wife and I like to travel a lot. As I got out of bed, something happened and I fell and hit my head on our new tile floor. Within seconds there was blood everywhere and I became disoriented. After spending more than 12 hours in the hospital, and after having been treated by one of the nicest Jacksonville Plastic Surgeons's that I have met, I began to think about how many estate planners take their own advice and have documents that are up to date and trusts that are funded.
I first became concerned with my Florida Estate Plan when I was going to London for an extended time and there had recently been some bombings in London. My wife refused to go, or let me go, if our plans were not set in writing prior to our departure.
Today as I sit in the hospital, I am thinking that If I did not have plans and my injury would have been more serious, it may have been more difficult for my wife to speak on my behalf. What if I have had a heart attack, stroke, or just been unconscious as a result of my fall and injury.
In the end, none of these documents was necessary, but it was comforting to know that they were in place if they were needed. While the emergency room did ask if they existed, they did not ask for a copy, nor would it have been easy to produce a copy upon admittance. The next thing I will do is keep a copy of them on my iPhone, and my wife's iPhone in case they are needed.
It just goes to show you that you never know when you might need Florida Estate Planning Documents. While my documents are up to date, I know most people do not have up to date Florida Estate Planning Documents. At the Apple Law Firm, we practice what we preach because each of ourselves place our family in harms way daily when we drive, walk down the street or get out of bed. If you would like a free review of your Estate Planning Documents under Florida law, let me know and I would be happy to make sure your documents are up to date and you understand what your options and obligations are.
One of the best benefits of a good estate plan is avoiding Florida Probate. To learn what is involved with a Florida probate request the Free Florida Probate Handbook
Florida Estate Planning Documents can be lost during a hurricane or tropical storm. Just when a Florida Will, Power of Attorney, or Florida Living Will, Designation of Health care Surrogate & HIPAA release.
You should protect your original signed documents by keeping them in with in waterproof container and if possible off the floor or at a bank in a safety deposit box A scanned copy of these documents should be keep with your and made available at an off site storage facility like Google or any free document storage provider.
If you home is damaged and is inside a Florida Revocable Trust you may have to provide an original copy of the trust to the insurance company.
As the storm season approaches, it may be a good idea to update your Florida Estate Planning Documents with any changes in your family or financial circumstances so that your documents are up to date with your intentions and your capabilities.
Jacksonville Probate Lawyer, David Goldman has put together a Florida Probate Handbook that is being offered free to readers and visitors of his websites. If you would like a copy, visit the Free Florida Probate Handbook web page, fill out the form, and one will be sent to you within 24 hours by email.
While Florida generally recognizes wills created in another state that were valid at the time they were created, it is often a good idea to have your will reviewed by a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer when you move to Florida.
One problem we often run into is that guardians for minor children who reside in Florida must be a close relative or a resident of the state of Florida. Often people designate non-relatives that do not reside in Florida and these are not effective.
While it is possible to create a trust or other legal instrument to allow a non-resident to manage the property of a minor, this should not be done in a will as it may be ineffective.
There are many other issues that arise with a move across state lines. Some states are community property and Florida is not. It is best to have your documents reviewed to make sure that your desires are carried out. There are some wills like holographic wills ( a will that is handwritten by the testator) that may be valid in states like California that Florida will not recognize unless they comply with the Florida Statute of Wills.
Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer for more information and a review of your documents.
Roy Doppelt, a California estate planning lawyer, wrote an article on HIPAA and Advanced Health Car Directives. Much of his information applies to Florida Advanced Health Care directives. Roy states that an Advance Health Care Directive appoints a family member or friend to make health care decisions for you if you become physically or mentally unable to make them for yourself.
The person appointed is your Agent and many people appoint backup agents to help make decisions. We typically draft these documents in conjunction with a living will and a HIPAA release so that your Agent cannot show one document without the other in an attempt to avoid your desires.
Google Health just began offering personal health records on the Web. They are joining WebMD, Microsoft, and Revolution Health.
These services are designed to help consumers manage their health care and medical spending records.
Google record allows users to send personal information to some clinics or to pull records from the clinic into the Google personal file. One clinic that has begun working with Google is the Cleveland Clinic.
As of the launch, more than two dozen companies announced a partnership with Google Health. Some of the companies include Walgreens, CVS, the American Heart Association, Quest Diagnostics, Beth Israel, Deaconess Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic.
If you plan to subscribe to a service like this make sure you deal with it in your Durable and Medical Powers of Attorney so that the benefit from these services is not lost by your subsequent incapacity.
To discuss how to integrate these services into your Florida Estate planning documents Contact a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer.
It could be happening again in Florida, The Palm Beach Post has a report on a similar case. If you do not have a Florida Living Will now is the time to get one.
Karen Weber did not have a Florida Living Will when she suffered a seizure back in November. Her husband wants to disconnect the feeding tube that has kept her alive for the past 7 months.
The courts have not ruled on Ms. Weber's condition and it is Mr. Weber's intent to keep it a private matter.
Who could forget the circus that can arise when such an emotional issue is tried in the court of public opinion.
If you need a living will you can get a free one, I have previously posted a Free Florida Living Will on this site.
If you need help with Florida Estate Planning Documents please Contact a
Florida Estate Planning Lawyer
Often clients do Florida Estate Planning in anticipation of an overseas trip or international relocation. They often ask if they should make special considerations because of their anticipated location.
Generally we advise clients that the planning is basically the same even if they will be living overseas for an extended period of time. The one area where there may be differences is in their Durable Power of Attorney where it might be advisable to make changes.
These changes require an evaluation of the current and anticipated needs of the individual client and cannot be generalized.
If you are planning an international trip, going on a cruise, or moving overseas for a time, you should contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss or review your Florida Estate Planning Documents .
In Florida, and many other states animals are now allowed to be the beneficiaries of a special trust that is created to take care of them. These are often referred to as a Florida Pet Trust.
Today I was reading an article published in Arizona which stated that a Dog could inherit one's estate. While the article gives the correct advice the title is misleading and seems to suggest that a dog could inherit your estate. A pet may only receive the benefit of a Florida Pet Trust while the animal is alive. Being the beneficiary of a trust is not the same as inheriting part of an estate. In fact, a gift to a pet which is not in the form of a Florida Pet Trust would be void in Florida and most states.
To create a valid Florida Pet Trust please Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.
The other day, I wrote an article on the pitfalls of using a Free Florida Durable Power of Attorney. I have been thinking of a way to provide a good power of attorney for my readers. I have been unable to come up with a generic form that I feel comfortable publishing because of the huge liability associated with the Power of Attorney in Florida. Perhaps I will figure a way to accomplish this in the future. In the mean time, I have created the second most important document to any Florida Estate Plan - the Combination Living Will, Designation of Health care Surrogate and HIPAA Release.
You may ask what is a Combo Living Will and how is it different than my existing document. The biggest difference is that this document contains a HIPAA release which is necessary for your agent to obtain medical records, and the power for your agent to make decisions when you are unable to.
Many lawyers provide these as 3 separate documents. I find that my clients like to have them in a single document because it avoids the ability for your agent to show one or more but not all of the documents to achieve their desired results and circumvent yours. By having a single document you can make sure the objectives of Florida Living Will are preserved and consistent with any actions taken by your medical agent.
Free Combination Living Will, Designation of Health care Surrogate and HIPAA Release
You should have this document reviewed to make sure it was executed properly. Please contact your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Florida Lawyer to review the document.
Britney’s dad had was appointed as conservator of her person and co-conservator of her estate, which means her dad is now in control of what Britney can do, who she can see, and he’s controlling all access to her bank accounts and credit cards.
Over the weekend, Britney attempted to hire her own lawyer to fight her dad’s attempt to take over her personal and financial affairs.
But, the Court refused to recognize Andrew Streisand as Britney’s lawyer because the court-appointed lawyer assigned to evaluate Britney said that Brit doesn’t have capacity right now to hire her own lawyer.
You’d think that someone with her wealth would have a Will , a Revocable Trust , Health Care Directives, Powers of Attorney, Guardian Nominations … basically a comprehensive estate plan.
It’s too late now for Britney, but it’s not too late for you … today having a personal lawyer is both accessible and affordable and if you own your home, care about your family, and want a trusted advisor to call when you are in crisis, you should have your own. To create of review your Florida Estate Planning Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.
A number of Texarkana residents have filed suit against sellers of living trust documents in a class action accusing the salesmen of exploiting senior citizens. This is similar to what I reported happening in California in December.
A Plaintiff says he purchased a living trust after attending a lunch presentation at a restaurant. He states the document was misrepresented and that if he dies with only these estate-planning documents, his estate will still need to be probated because the living trust failed to factor in his real property in Arkansas.
The living trust sellers are facing allegations of "masquerading as qualified financial advisers, estate planners, lawyers, and paralegals" to "exploit and prey" upon senior citizens with the creation and selling of "unnecessary and often useless" living trusts.
Defendants are accused of fraud, unauthorized practice of law, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy. The suit alleges that the defendants created and sold the living trusts as part of a scheme to gain access to senior citizens' financial information in order to sell annuities and other financial products.
According to the original complaint, the scheme begins with advertisements that persuade senior citizens to attend a free lunch or dinner. At these meetings, the "unlicensed" living trust defendants conduct presentations and distribute materials that misrepresent the impact of probate fees and estate taxes in order to create fear that the senior citizens need to buy a trust to prevent heirs from losing their estate.
These presentations include references to celebrities such as Elvis and describe the large amounts these celebrities have paid in estate taxes. The plaintiffs state these presentations do not include information about the federal estate tax exemption, the sliding scale of the exemption amount, or the possibility of the elimination of future estate taxes.
Further, the presentation does not tell senior citizens with estates larger than the exemption amount that the purchase of these living trusts will not automatically eliminate all estate taxes. The forms and decisions made by the defendants fail to take into account the entire senior's assets and ultimately and fail to serve the legal purpose as presented, argue the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs claims the presentations convince the senior citizens to use their IRA accounts or other tax-exempt growth products to purchase variable annuities. However, according to the plaintiffs' accusations, the presentations and documents do not demonstrate the redundancy with regard to a variable annuity's tax deferral benefit when purchased in a qualified plan and also do not inform the consumer of the associated fees, surrender charges and commissions associated with these variable annuity products.
These types of programs are everywhere. It is important to use a lawyer who will look at your individual assets and who is not trying to sell you other financial products. To review your estate planning needs contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.
Fox Business has an article on A New and Smart Way to Leave Your IRA to a Minor where they discuss the importance of reviewing beneficiaries on all acounts including insurance, annuities, and retirement plans.
They discuss leaving a percentage of the account rather than a dollar amount as this can cause complications if there are not enough assets in the account.
"If you don’t name someone in your will to act as “financial guardian” for your granddaughter, then your IRA will end up in probate court with a judge making the decision. And it might not be the person you’d want. (Your son-in-law, for instance.)"Not only that, once the probate court is involved, it can get very expensive, depending upon the laws of the state where the minor lives. “The court gets joint jurisdiction,” says Goldberg. It can require the guardian to post bond and prepare annual reports on how the money was spent. You may need pre-approval each time you want to take a withdrawal. The court could require that the money be taken out as a lump sum, negating the benefits of “stretching” withdrawals over your granddaughter’s life expectancy.
To avoid the jurisdiction of the probate court, you can leave your IRA to a trust instead of directly to your granddaughter. As the beneficiary of the trust, she would still receive all of the benefit of your IRA. You get to appoint a trustee- which can’t easily be changed by a court- and this individual would take the annual required distributions from your IRA. The money goes into the trust and, based on the conditions you set, it can either be paid out to cover some of your granddaughter’s living expenses or accumulated to pay for college.
Florida residents should start the New Year off right, here are ten important Florida estate planning and Florida probate and tips for the New Year.
1. If you don’t have a Will, get one.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #1: Have a Florida Will. If you don’t have a Florida Will, get one. In particular, married couples with children from prior relationships should always have a Florida Will. Otherwise, the state will decide who gets the money at death.
2. Get a Medical Power of Attorney and Advanced Medical Directive.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #2: Along with a Will, everybody should have a Florida medical power of attorney and an advanced medical directive. A Florida medical power of attorney designates an individual to make health care decisions for you should you be unable to do so. An advanced medical directive, commonly called a living will, states in advance what you want in the way of life sustaining treatment when death is imminent or when you are in a persistent vegetative state.
3. Review all beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts, and other financial accounts.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #3: Review all beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts and other financial accounts. You may be surprised at what you find. Do not settle for a verbal confirmation. Make sure you see the documents.
4. Get a permanent life insurance policy.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #4: Evaluate the need for permanent life insurance. Liquidity is important in life and at death. The lack of liquidity at death can increase legal fees and cause property to be sold for less than its actual value – far less. Even a small amount of life insurance is better than none.
5. Put your permanent life insurance in a life insurance trust.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #5: If you have substantial, permanent life insurance, consider putting the life insurance in a life insurance trust. Moving your life insurance into a life insurance trust removes the insurance from your gross taxable estate for federal estate tax purposes and protects the insurance policy from creditors. This can save you 45% or more of the policy value.
6. Put your inheritance in an irrevocable trust for asset protection.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #6: Get it and give it in trust. When you give an inheritance in an irrevocable trust, you also give some level of asset protection. If you are the potential recipient of an inheritance and if you have the ability to speak openly with the person making the gift, consider suggesting that the gift be made in some form of irrevocable trust. There is some cost to a gift in trust. However, the asset protection benefits typically outweigh the cost.
7. Put all your estate planning documents in a safe deposit box.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #7: Obtain a safe deposit box and put your original Florida estate planning and other important documents in the box. Fire safes and file cabinets are certainly better than nothing if you let somebody know where to look. However, many Wills vanish or are lost shortly before death. If the original cannot be found and the original was last seen in your possession, Florida courts presume that you destroyed or revoked the Will. While a copy of a Florida Will can sometimes be probated in a Florida probate, it can be expensive and not always successful.
8. Protect your heirs against local expensive probate proceedings.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #8: If you own real estate outside of the state where your Will is to be probated, make sure that transferring the real estate to your heirs will not require a local, expensive probate proceeding. This can be accomplished several ways. Some states have a simplified probate procedure for making the transfer without opening a local probate proceeding. Other states allow for beneficiary designations through something called beneficiary deeds. In most states, the probate process can be avoided by transferring the real estate into a revocable trust. Otherwise, be prepared to spend several thousand dollars to make the transfer after the death of the owner. Note: Property in a foreign country can be very expensive to transfer upon death. Also pay attention to foreign estate tax. Unlike the United States, the estate tax can vary greatly based upon whom you give the property to at death.
9. Leave property to your husband or wife in trust.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #9: Consider leaving property to your spouse in trust instead of outright. The trust accomplishes three goals.
1. Avoiding estate tax.Many family estates have been lost when the surviving spouse remarries and leaves the family assets to the new spouse or his/her family. We see more money lost to shifting bloodlines than we have ever seen paid in federal estate tax.
2. Protecting the assets from the surviving spouse’s creditors.
3. Controlling how the remaining funds are distributed.
10. Know if your state has state or estate/inheritance taxes.
Florida estate planning and Florida Probate tip #10: If you have a tax planning estate plan, know whether your state has estate tax. Florida does not have any estate tax, but if you become domiciled in another state your estate may be subject to estate taxes. Many states are implementing estate or inheritance taxes.
Stephanie Loomis-Price has recently published her articles entitled Family Limited Partnerships.
In her article, Stephanie offers a detailed outline of the Family Limited Partnership – from consideration of the FLP as an appropriate estate planning tool, through the formation of the partnership, concluding with the administration of the partnership and tax compliance issues.
Family Limited Partnerships are used in Florida Estate Planning when the assets are in excess of the death tax exemption. If you have a large net worth and require structure to help reduce the 45% estate tax rate, you should contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss a Family Limited Partnership.
When was the last time you sat down with someone to review your Floria trust, Florida will, Florida power of attorney, health care directive, and other documents intended to make sure that your assets will be managed and distributed according to your wishes? If it has been longer than a year, you are probably overdue for an estate planning check-up.
Changes in your assets
Acquiring different of assets or changes in the value of the assets may require Estate Planning that was not anticipated.
Changes in the law
Florida Estate plans become outdated or are not as effective over time. This year there were substantial changes to the Florida Trust laws that are retroactive on older trusts. Recent tax changes can have a dramatic impact on how estates are planned. There have been changes in health care privacy laws which can make it difficult for family members to care for loved ones without the proper documents.
Changes in family circumstances or relationships
Events such as births, deaths, marriages and divorces can have significant impacts on an Florida estate planning. Your feelings about people who you appointed to handle your estate or make health care decisions can change.
Changes in your goals or desires
A change in your goals or desires throughout their lives can also effect Florida Estate Planning.
To update your Florida Estate Planning contact a licensed Florida Estate Planning Lawyer and discuss your current documents and desires.
Many people who have reached the age of retirement split their time between Florida and another state. Since we are at the prime time of year for this to be happening I thought it appropriate as a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to write about some of the issues of Estate Planning that can affect these individuals.
Florida’s new trust code has a new requirement of a connection with the state of Florida to be able to create and use a Florida Living Trust or any Florida Trust.
In addition there are specific requirement for Valid Florida Durable Power of Attorney that do not exist in other states. If you visit or live in Florida, you Durable Power of Attorney should have the relevant Florida language to make sure it can be enforced in Florida.
Often our clients have well-established relationships with the Estate Planning Lawyers in their home state. Some want to take advantage of the strong and robust trust code in Florida compared to that of their other state of residence. A common question that arises when a person spends time in two different states (dual residency) is: how do you create a Florida living trust and Florida Estate Plan that works as intended when you are not sure where the probate or trust administration will take place?
This issue becomes important because the ultimate determination of domicile for the purpose of probate and trust administration is not conclusively determined until a person passes away. Individuals can take steps to help insure that Florida is considered their domicile to take advantage of the favorable tax, estate tax, and probate costs associated with Florida.
Often when I am confronted with a living trust and family which spans multiple states I try to work with an Estate Planning Lawyer from the other states to make sure that the Living trust complies with the requirements of each state as well as offers the advantages of each state. Often we find that Florida is as advantageous as other states, but sometimes we use aspects from each state to create the plan that serves the clients ultimate needs.
For example, if there is a possibility that my client’s estate plan may be administered in Connecticut or another northern state. In these cases we will work with Estate Planning lawyers from these states to make sure that any recent changes in the states laws are included in the will or revocable trusts that are in place or being prepared
Do you have to work with a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to make sure your estate plan works in Florida and or a different state than where it was created? In most cases I find that the answer is no. Although competent drafting can establish the site of the trust as the state where it was created it can also establish another state when there are advantages. Most Florida Estate Planning Lawyer focus on one state and are not able to accurately determine what is the best state to use. This means that even if there are judicial proceedings in Florida, the court can interpret the revocable trust according to the chosen state in the trust.
An effective estate plan for dual residency is a challenge and an opportunity. Multi-state Estate Planning can be a can of worms for the ill-prepared and can have unintended or unforeseen consequences to an estate plan that worked perfectly fine in one state. However, if you act carefully you can not only preserve your existing estate plan, but possibly enhance it as well.
If you would like you Estate Planning Documents reviewed to see if they can be enhanced please contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer.
If you would like your Estate Planning Documents reviewed by a http://www.shealawonline.com/blog/ Connecticut Estate Planning Lawyer you may contact http://www.shealawonline.com/ Richard L. Shea.
Mitchell Port a California lawyer posted a link to an article on the California Tax Attorney Blog about an article on the State Bar Website which provides information on estate planning. Although this is a California bar website, many of the same issues and considerations are important to Florida residents interested in Florida Estate Planning. Much of the information is also found on The Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog which primarily deals with Florida issues.
1. What Is Estate Planning?
2. What Is Involved in Estate Planning?
3. Who Needs Estate Planning ?
4. What Is Included in my Estate?
5. What Is a Will?
6. What Is a Revocable Living Trust?
7. What Is Probate?
8. To Whom Should I Leave My Assets?
9. Whom Should I Name as My Executor or Trustee?
10. How Should I Provide for My Minor Children?
11. When Does Estate Planning Involve Tax Planning?
12. How Does the Way in Which I Hold Title Make a Difference?
13. What Are Other Methods of Leaving Property?
14. What If I Become Unable to Care for Myself ?
15. Who Should Help Me With My Estate Planning Documents?
16. How Do I Find a Qualified Lawyer?
17. Should I Beware of Someone Who Is a "Promoter" of Financial and Estate Planning Services?
18. What Are the Costs Involved In Estate Planning?
Leanna Hamill with the Massachusetts Estate Planning and Elder Law Blog wrote an article on Estate Planning titled Should You Discuss Your Plans with Your Children?
In the article she discusses the fact that clients often wonder if they should share their estate plans with their children. In giving her expected advice of IT DEPENDS, Leanna explains some of the reasons why one should and should not disclose their plans. These deal with the way the property is split between the beneficiaries, who will be the PR, Executor, or Trustee, unfit children, issues of disinheritance, and special provisions for one child.
For more insight on these issues read her article or speak with your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer about your particular situation. While you may have not considered the ramifications and ways to approach your specific issues, an Experienced Florida Estate Planning Attorney has.
Wills
•A new Florida will is almost always advisable for the divorced client, especially if there are minor children.“Pour Over” Wills and Revocable Trusts•Florida Statute section 732.507 generally provides that after the dissolution the provisions for the former spouse in the will are treated as if the former spouse died at the time of the dissolution of the marriage.
• A subsequent marriage, birth, adoption, or divorce will not revoke a Florida Will.
•A Major Concern of Most Clients
-Former spouse will be appointed guardian of the property of the deceased client because they are the natural guardian of minor children and have the highest priority for appointment as guardian. The priority can be altered by naming another individual as guardian under a Florida will.-Consider avoiding a guardianship of the property by having assets for minors held in a Florida trust. Someone other than the former spouse can then be named as trustee.
•If the client has established a revocable inter vivos (living) trust and executed a Florida pour over will (a will that distributes the residue to a trust) prior to the dissolution, the former spouse could potentially inherit the entire estate if the former spouse is the beneficiary of the trust. Florida Statute section 732.507 does not have any effect on inter vivos trusts.Estate Tax Planning•A new or restated Florida trust should be executed to remove provisions for the former spouse for the reasons stated above.
•If the client has a taxable estate, the fact that they no longer have a spouse could drastically change their estate tax planning due to loss of the marital deduction.Life Insurance, Deferred Compensation, IRA’s, Annuities
•Beneficiary designations should be reviewed to assure that the former spouse is no longer a beneficiary.•IRA designations need to be reviewed to make sure the effect of the chosen beneficiaries does not adversely affect one of the beneficiaries because of age, or ineligibility
In Florida Domestic Partners need the help of a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to handle their complex situations. Domestic partners are considered any two people no mater what sex who live together and what each other to benefit in the event of the subsequent death of the other.
Without a valid Florida Will or Valid Florida Estate Planning Documents the domestic partner will not receive any portion of the others estate upon their death. The Florida intestate statutes do not provide any benefits for a domestic partner.
If one creates an invalid Floria Will using software or a form, the Florida statutes provides benefits to the spouse and children of the deceased. Although the decedent's desires may not be complied with completely. Their family, who is usually the intended beneficiary, will receive the proceeds from the estate. This is not true with domestic partnerships. The domestic partners will receive nothing from the decedents estate.
To make sure you and your domestic partner are protected, you should have your Florida Estate Planning Documents reviewed or created by a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Attorney.
If you or a member of your family was to have a crisis are you prepared? That is the question you should ask your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Attorney on a regular basis. Often we only look at significant events in our lives and do not consider the effects that a significant effect in our parents or children's lives will have upon us.
When you review your Florida Estate Plan you should also review or remind your parents and adult children to review their plans also. There are changes in the laws which may prompt updates to your estate planning techniques. In addition, significant changes in your life including births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and changes in assets should trigger an estate plan review.
Generally when an Florida Estate Planning Attorney creates Florida Estate Planning Documents their duty is over once the documents are prepared. The obligation is up to you to seek a regular review of these documents.
In addition to reviewing the documents you should consider the following:
1) Make sure you know where your parents documents are, and you tell your personal representative and beneficiaries know where the documents are. If you are concerned that the documents may disappear, you may keep them with an attorney. If you keep your documents with a Jacksonville Florida Estate Planning Lawyerr or Jacksonville Florida Probate Lawyer you should tell people who has them.If are not funded they will provide none of the expected benefits upon the death of the grantor.2)Check to see that the Florida Estate Planning documents are complete and reflect their current family and financial situation.
3)Make sure that the documents reflect your or your parents current mind set. Wills and trusts need to be reviewed for changes in their financial condition as well as the beneficiaries family and financial condition.
4) Make sure all Estate Planning Documents are signed and witnessed as necessary under the current statutes or those in place at the time of execution.
5)Make sure any Florida Durable Power of Attorney documents mention the current Florida Statutes, many durable power of attorney documents are not honored when they do not comply with the Florida Statutes.
6) Make sure your Florida Living Trust or Florida Revocable Trust or any Florida Trusts are funded. That means that the bank accounts, CD accounts, land, and other assets have been transferred to the trusts. Any deeds to this effect should be properly recorded.
Often Estate Planning clients struggle with their spouse or self over who to pick as an agent to represent them in a Florida Durable Powers of Attorney ( Financial decisions), Florida Living will & Designation of Health Care Surrogate ( Health care decisions) and Revocable Trusts (Financial Management).
Initially clients might thing of using a Co-Agent. This can cause many problems and unforeseen circumstances and must be done with the correct expectations and knowledge of the potential problems. Michael Keenan has an article discussing several of these issues, titled Be Careful With Co-Agents. In summary, before choosing co-agents you should consider whether they get along well with each other, and what to do if they do not in the future.
In addition, what if one lives far away or moves after the documents are created. Some hospitals or financial institutions may require that both act together unless each co-agent has "several powers" or "joint and several powers" This can be difficult and impracticable. You put your financial and health interest at risk due to delay in execution of the documents.
Both Michael Keenan and David Goldman, a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer & Attorney, recommend that unless there are extraordinary situations taking place, the use of co-agents should allow for flexibility and/or the ability for each to act independently.
As an Estate Planning Lawyer in Jacksonville Florida, I am often asked about issues dealing with addresses in Florida Wills, Florida Trusts, Florida Living Wills, Florida Durable Powers of Attorney, and other documents.
Generally the address and phone number in these documents is to help locate or contract the person. In some cases they can be used to help distinguish one John Doe from the next. The Connecticut Estate Planning Blog had an example of when it might be important to update the address, but as the site states, this would only happen on a law school exam.
The only possible reason why such a move would prompt a legitimate will amendment is if the move created an identification problem. For instance, in the above example, suppose the client disinherited his other brother, also named Billy Bob (I don't think I've ever seen two brothers with the same name), out of his will, but then that brother moves to Glastonbury after the other Billy Bob moved from Glastonbury to Wethersfield. Now the will seems to identify someone who the client didn't intend to include as a beneficiary of his will.Please note that the above facts only tend to arise in law school exams, not real life. Suffice it to say that address changes do not require will changes unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
As a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer, I find that I am explaining the terms of a Florida Living Will over and over and thought that I might be able to shed some light on what they are and how they are used with Florida Estate Planning.
A Florida Living Will is a document that says if I am both mentally and physically incapacitated and my treating (or attending) doctor and another doctor determine that there is no reasonable probability of my recovery from the condition, you direct that life-prolonging procedures be withheld or withdrawn when the application of the procedures would serve only to prolong artificially the process of dying.
It permits you to die naturally with only the administration of medication or medical procedures deemed necessary to provide me with comfort care or to alleviate pain.
You can agree with the above in one or more of the following conditions
1. When you have a terminal condition
2. When you have an end-stage condition.
3. When you are in a persistent vegetative state
1."End-stage condition" means an irreversible condition that is caused by injury, disease, or illness which has resulted in progressively severe and permanent deterioration, and which, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, treatment of the condition would be ineffective.After reading the definitions, there tends to be a lot of confusion between terminal conditions and end-stage conditions. You can read them over and over. The best way I have found to explain them is to say that cancer can be terminal. and at the very end when you have diabetes, and you are mentally and physically incapacitated, and you cant express any feelings and things are so bad that 2 doctors say additional treatments will do noting but prolong the process of dying ( this is about the time hospice would be called in).2. "Terminal condition" means a condition caused by injury, disease, or illness from which there is no reasonable medical probability of recovery and which, without treatment, can be expected to cause death.
3. "Persistent vegetative state" means a permanent and irreversible condition of unconsciousness in which there is:
(a) The absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind.4."Life-prolonging procedure" means any medical procedure, treatment, or intervention, including artificially provided sustenance and hydration, which sustains, restores, or supplants a spontaneous vital function. The term does not include the administration of medication or performance of medical procedure, when such medication or procedure is deemed necessary to provide comfort care or to alleviate pain.
(b) An inability to communicate or interact purposefully with the environment.
Look for What is a Living Will Part II to find out what else should but is not usally included in your living will, how to execute one, and why you might want yours notarized, even if not required by the state of Florida.
As a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer, one of the most common things I do is determine what is necessary for a clients Florida Estate Plan. Greg Herman-Giddens of the North Carolin Estate Planning Blog has an Article called the Anatomy of an Estate Plan where he discusses and defines the Basic Documents in an Estate Plan:
WillIn addition to these document your Florida Estate Planning Attorney should be looking at
Durable power of Attorney
Health Care Power of Attorney
Living Will
HIPAA Authorization, and
Living Trust
InsuranceAll of this should be reviewed on a regular basis and always when one of the following happens:
Asset Titles and Beneficiary Designations
Investment Management
Asset Protection
(1) Marriage, divorce, death of spouse.
(2) Birth of a child.
(3) Children become financially independent.
(4) Birth of a grandchild.
(5) New business venture.
(6) Substantial growth in your business.
(7) Job promotion.
(8) Retirement.
(9) Purchase of life insurance.
(10) Move to a different state.
(11) Substantial increase or decrease in wealth.
(12) Decision to make large charitable gifts.
(13) Increase in risk of being subject to a lawsuit.
(14) Substantial amounts of property are in joint names.
(15) You purchase real property (including a time share) in another state.
If you move to Florida from any state or country, Florida will recognize any will that was properly executed as to the rules of another state except Holographic wills.
A holographic will is one that is entirely in the handwriting of the creator. Florida does have an exception to their rule against accepting holographic wills, that is for those holographic wills that are witnessed by two witnesses and notarized.
In almost all cases new states will recognize a validly executed will from another state. It is best to check with an Estate Planning Lawyer in your new state to make sure that your will is valid and deals with any special laws that may be available in the new state.
In addition if you are moving from or to a community property state (Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Louisiana, Washington, Nevada, Texas, Wisconsin, and Alaska) to a state which a common law property state (like Florida), your will should be reviewed as there is a significant difference in the way property is held.
Be sure to look at your other estate planning documents like llving wills, advanced health care directives, and durable powers of attorney as these might be regulated differently in your new home state.
Florida Estate Planning Lawyers often include Durable Power of Attorney documents in the estate planning they do. Today I read an article on the California Estate Planning Blog entitled "Do I Need A POA Over My Spouse?".
The article recommends that everyone needs a power of attorney over their spouse in case something happens. Without a Florida Durable Power of Attorney in place, a spouse is unable to file taxes, deal with social security, talk to creditors or deal with other financial considerations that require the spouse's signature.
You cannot get a Florida Durable Power of Attorney if your spouse becomes incapacitated. The only alternative is to setup a Florida Guardianship. This is costly, time consuming, and requires one to act while a Florida Durable Power of Attorney gives one the ability to act, without the legal requirement to act.
For the same reasons why you need a Florida Durable Power of Attorney for you Spouse, you also need one for any children over the age of 18. If you child becomes injured, or incapacitated, you will be unable to act on their behalf without a Florida Power of Attorney.
Many Florida Estate Planning Lawyers also recommend a Combination Living Will and Designation of Health care Surrogate with HIPAA Release
Some Florida Estate Planning Lawyers are now providing documents for college age kids as part of their parents estate planning.
A valid Health Care Proxy or Designation of Health Care Surrogate, or Medical Power of Attorney and a Durable Power of Attorney are important documents to have for your adult children.
With recent HIPAA regulation and privacy laws, spouses can not find out medical information on each other, much less on their adult children. If you child is hurt, incapacitated, or unable to speak for themselves, a Florida Durable Power of Attorney or Florida Designation of Health Care Surrogate can allow you to act and make decisions on the behalf of your adult children. It is important to include HIPAA releases in these documents so that you can receive the background medical documents necessary to make decisions.
Remember, that your “child,” is an adult and their Privacy is protected under the law, once he or she turns 18. Under HIPAA, the medical community treats him or her as completely separate and distinct from you, and owes your “child” full confidentiality. There are circumstances when a medical provider may slip up and allow a parent or friend more information than they are suppose to, but without the proper documents they are not suppose to discuss the care and treatment of your child with anyone, including a parent.
To make sure you are prepared in case a medical emergency arises, you should talk with your Florida Estate Planning Attorney. Make sure that if you have a durable power of attorney it is valid, in the last few years there have been many problems with them, so it needs to mention the Florida Statute it that its authority comes from. If there your documents are more than 3 years old, you should have them reviewed for compliance with the new regulations.
Jacksonville Estate Planning Law Firm will continue it community service project by adding 3 Living Will Seminars in the month of September. This program provides Free information and the chance to create a free Florida Living Wills, Florida Designation of Health care Surrogate, and a Hipaa Release.
On September 11, 2007 at 11 A.M.
Riverview Center
Attn Ms Annie Henderson
9620 Water Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32208
(904) 765-7511
On September 18, 2007 at 11 A.M.
Wallace Small Center
Attn: Ms. Gloria Gregg
1083 Line Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32209
(904) 630-0724
On September 26, 2007 at 11 A.M.
Longbranch Center
Attn: Ms. Margaret Hampton
4110 Franklin Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32206
(904) 630-0893
Amy Baldwin has a nice article on when people usually think about getting wills. Typically they get wills when they are married, buy a home, have a baby, get a divorce or go on a vacation.
She states that most estate planning lawyers say whether married or not, every adult, starting at 18 needs to have estate planning documents.
In general when people turn 18 they need to have a Florida medical power of attorney . With the new HIPPA regulations parents can not depend on being able to find out about their injured child and provide instructions for their treatment. In Florida and other states, many doctors will not release information to a spouse much less an adult child. Before your child goes to college, you should have him execute some common Florida Estate Planning Documents.
Often clients ask about Do it yourself living wills, wills, trusts, and other components of estate planning. I read an interesting post by an Estate Planning Attorney and although they are not in Jacksonville Florida their advice and commentary is very relevant. Basically with a will, you don't often get a chance to correct mistakes or have a professional fix or review the document. The Estate Planning Lawyer compares it to buying a hair dye in a store and then getting a professional to fix your hair after you make a mess or do serious injury to yourself.
While this is true with business planning, often with estate planning there is no time to fix the mistakes. Often one discovers the mistakes in their will, trust, power of attorney only after it is to late to make any changes. Sure we could all go purchase a form, or use an online service and save some money, but if you are trying to protect assets, save money on probate, or reduce estate taxes, the few dollars saved (even if large by percentage) will often cost hundreds or thousands of times as much when the taxes come due.
Be careful with do it yourself kits and services, and if you have something to loose, remember that you often get what you pay for.
Most Jacksonville estate planning attorneys or those in other locations, focus on your heirs (children and grandchildren). As your parents are aging it is also important to consider and evaluate your parent's estate planning. One you understand the value in creating your own estate plan, you need to understand what effects your parents estate planning will have on you. You may find that your parents should leave the maximum exempt amount to their grandchildren (GST Trust)instead of to you. This can help avoid an extra layer of Death taxes. Its also important to classify their assets and allow the Personal representative or trustee the flexibility and duty to find which assets have the most appreciation (lowest cost value) and allocate those as to be most beneficial to the estate. If you can discuss your parent's estate planning with them, you may want to. You should speak with an estate planning attorney who can help structure a multi generational estate plan to help you and your parents establish a plan that will pass their values and protect inheritance.
Legally Incapacitated Person: A person who has been determined by a court as not capable of handling his or her personal and financial affairs.
A Florida Durable Power of Attorney, Florida Trust, Florida Guardianship, Florida Designation of Health Care Surrogate all deal with Legally Incapacitated persons.
One may not be the Personal Representative, Agent, or Trustee if they are Legally Incapacitated.
In Florida Estate Planning, Florida Guardianship Proceedings, and Florida Probate cases it is often necessary to setup a full or plenary guardianship.
Guardian: an adult appointed by a surviving parent in his or her will or by a court, who is responsible for a minor child or legally incapacitated person's personal care and nurturing.
A parent is the natural guardian of their minor child. If a child receives over $15,000 from a probate or settlement that requires court approval, a parent will need to create a Florida Guardianship over the Property of the minor child.
Other times Florida Guardianships are used to try to stop individuals from wasting their assets. Although this was permissible in the past in Florida, the new standard does not take into account the actions of the individual only the mental capacity of the individual and by law must impose the least restrictions on an individual when evaluating their mental and physical capacity.
Often, Florida Estate Planning Techniques such as Florida Revocable Living Trusts, Florida Durable Powers of Attorney, and Florida Designation of health Care Surrogates are used to prevent a guardianship from being imposed on an individual at a later date.
Fiduciary: This refers to a person (or entity) that serves in a representative capacity. Personal representatives, trustees, guardians, conservators, and agents under powers of attorney are all fiduciaries. A fiduciary stands in a position of confidence and trust with respect to each heir, devisee, and/or beneficiary. They are subject to a responsibility to act in the best interests of the person that they are serving on behalf of and can be sued if they act improperly.
Beneficiary:
In Florida Estate Planning and Florida Probate context this is a person entitled to receive property that was left to them by a will or trust or as a named beneficiary. This is contrasted by a person who receives property merely because of their family or marital relationship to the decedent which would be known as an heir. It may also include someone who is a named beneficiary of property such as a life insurance policy or a retirement account.
A general power of attorney will not be effective when the principal, the one who wrote and signed it, becomes incompetent, but a Florida durable power of attorney will still be valid after a person becomes incompetent or incapacitated.
One of the primary tax purposes of a durable power of attorney is to provide a mechanism for reducing a person's estate by making gifts of his or her assets. A similar objective in a smaller, nontaxable estate may be to make the principal eligible for Medicaid planning or assistance. In either case, it is prudent, and good practice demands, that the attorney at law who drafts the power of attorney includes the power to make gifts.
If the gift-making power is not included, the validity of the gift may be challenged. The IRS has successfully challenged gifts that were made when there was no specific authority in the document.
A power of attorney is not the same as a trust, a will or a living will. But it is a separate legal document that is an important part of a Florida estate plan.
Please make sure when creating Powers of Attorney, trusts, or wills they are setup correctly. Often fill in the blank forms can provide a framework, but they are not able to take into condideration the particulars need of individuals. Its best to have an attorney prepare these documents and have them reviewed yearly by your Florida Estate Planning Attorney for changes in your status, and the law.
A Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive / Living WIll are two additional documents that should be part of every family's estate plan, in addition to a Will or Living Trust.
An Advance Health Care Directive appoints someone to make medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated. It also tells doctors what kind of medical care you do, or don't, want at the end of your life.
A Durable Power of Attorney for Property Management appoints someone to manage your finances for you if you become incapacitated.
Both documents are part of good Florida estate planning techniques.
The process of preparing and planning for a persons financial, health care and personal affairs. It includes documents to designate an agent in the event of a future disability such as a Living Willl or health care surrogate to assist with health care matters if one is unable to do so, a power of attorney to help with financial matters, and wills and trusts to pass financial property to family, friends and possibly other organizations. Estate Planning can ensure that a person is able to pass their property exactly as they desire instead of how Florida law or their home state would dictate it pass and then if trusts are prepared they can direct how the property will be handled long after the grantor is dead. Estate Planning is critical for all people and not merely those with a large estate. It determines who the guardian of minor children would be, who the personal representative/trustee (if there was also a trust) would be that handles the affairs and a guardianship from having to be imposed where the court would take control. Florida probate could be avoided as well through the use of trusts and or proper designations for the way that property is held saving time and money. Also if it is a large estate money could be saved that would otherwise have to be paid for estate taxes. Once all the persons assets exceed a certain exemption amount the estate is taxed at over 40%. With proper planning substantial amounts of money can be saved.
