Establishing a trust is often an important part of the management of your assets and estate. A trust can help to ensure decedent’s assets are passed to their heirs precisely the way they are intended. Trusts can either be irrevocable or revocable. The person who creates a revocable trust can…
In today’s world, it is common to see blended families full of biological and stepchildren. It is crucial for parents, who wish to leave an inheritance to their stepchildren, make a will or trust because stepchildren do not have the same inheritance rights as biological children. Florida’s probate laws do…
One of most common topics we discuss with our business and estate planning clients is asset protection. The best time to do asset protection is when you do not have any known or potential creditors. Unfortunately, this is often the least likely time to consider protecting your assets. Today we…
Beneficiaries or people who think they are beneficiaries of trusts often ask up if they should receive regular payments or distributions from a trust. As with most legal issues the answers “depends on the circumstances and what the documents state”. Without reviewing your trust to determine if it is a…
Often families have vacation property that has been owned for may years or generations. It would be virtually impossible for most children to acquire or maintain these types of properties in today’s market. We often use business entities or trusts to hold title to the property and other assets to…
In order for a person to attempt to reform a trust, that person must “have standing.” This designation refers to a person who has an interest in the trust. This person can be a trustee, beneficiary, or a trustee and beneficiary. A settlor, the creator of the trust, gets to…
If you are a married person in the State of Florida and have not created a Florida Will or Florida Revocable Trust you should fully understand what will happen to your assets when you die. Previously in Florida, if a husband or wife passed away with only children belonging to…
Suppose your parents set up a tax planning Florida Revocable Trust with the assets being held for the kids in trust. Under the terms of the trust, the trustee is to distribute net income and principle as the trustee determines is necessary for education and support in reasonable comfort. If…
As a Jacksonville Beach Estate Planning Attorney I have heard countless stories of trustees who have been entrusted to administer, distribute, and account for trust funds to family members and beneficiaries . . . who DON’T! Sad but true, the death of a grantor, trustor, or settlor of a trust…
When you have a blended family or children from different marriages it is very important to have estate planning that deals with the various possibilities. All to often the standard will or generic documents can produce undesired results. Take for example a Husband and Wife who each have children from…