Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

July 19, 2012

How Many Estate Planning Lawyers do you Need?

According to a recent article on Forbes.com, the importance of estate planning for married couples cannot be stressed enough. The seriousness of such forward thinking is even more critical in blended families which tend to present more opportunities for volatility following the death of a parent.

The first issue for all couples to resolve is whether to be represented jointly by the same estate planning lawyer or for you each to go it alone. While joint representation can be more cost-effective, it can mean that both parties don’t have the freedom to speak up about their individual concerns. Unless there is healthy communication between the spouses joint representation can be a recipe for disaster.

The following are some good rules of thumbs to consider when deciding whether you need your own or joint representation:

July 18, 2012

How to Avoid Probate in Florida

by David M. Goldman

Thumbnail image for last-will-and-testament-document-with-gavel-and-pen-58750624.jpg With a little careful planning, you may be able to avoid the probate question all together. Avoiding probate saves money and greatly reduces the strain placed on your family by time in court. A meeting with an estate-planning attorney can help you figure out how to structure your estate so that probate is not necessary, no matter how large the value of the estate. The following is a list of estate-planning tools that can help you avoid having to go through the probate process. Be careful replying on some of these because they may expose you to unnecessary risk of loss of the assets due to litigation. If you are interested in protecting assets and avoiding probate contact us to discuss your specific needs.

1. Living Trusts: Living trusts (also called an “inter vivos” trust) is a trust that is created while you are alive, rather than one created upon your death. Living trusts are great vehicles to avoid the lengthy and expensive probate process.

2. Joint Ownership: If you own property jointly with someone else, and this ownership includes the “right of survivorship,” then the surviving owner automatically owns the property when the other owner dies. An asset that is owned by two or more people in joint tenancy is not required to go through probate.

July 16, 2012

Should I receive regular payments from a Trust as a Beneficiary?

by David M. Goldman

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 revocable trust, revocable trust that has become irrevocable, or an irrevocable trust as well who the beneficiaries it is difficult to tell whether you are entitled to anything.

Sometimes people think they are beneficiaries when they are contingent beneficiaries and have no rights until a triggering event occurs. Often that is the death of the person who created the trust or their spouse.

July 11, 2012

Elder Law Update: States That Could Make Children Pay for Dad’s Care

by David M. Goldman

Unpdaid long-term care bills are increasing and becoming more of a problem in many states. All 50 States have statutes that obligate adults to care for children or other family members; if your parent lives in one of 29 states, you could be held responsible for your parents unpaid long-term care bills. What? How could this be? are the typical reactions to many living in these unfortunate states.

Katherine Pearson at Penn State Law School has written a paper on Fillal Support Laws and the enforcement Practices for laws requiring adult children to pay for indigent parents.

Her abstract states:

July 10, 2012

Should you make a gift in 2012 and avoid Gift Tax on $5.12 Million

by David M. Goldman

December 31 the 5 Million Dollar gift tax exemption is set to expire and revert back to 1 Million dollars. This is separate from the $13,000 annual gift exclusion. There is a relatively small percentage of the population that this can make a difference for. Even for those who could take advantage of it, many are not so eager to give away the money just to reduce their future estate tax bill. Many older people feel that they will not have enough to live on if they give away the funds.

The deadline for making such a gift is rapidly approaching as it can take several weeks to prepare document to deal with the issues correctly.

There are ways of making the gifts so that exposure to creditors is limited. Some ways of making the gift are in the form of cash, in trust, as part of a business, or a combination of the above.

July 6, 2012

Frequent estate-planning mistakes in Jacksonville.

by David M. Goldman

Thumbnail image for pigbank.jpg While there are many mistakes people can make while planning their estates, a recent column on Forbes.com, lists some of the errors most frequently encountered.

1. Not having a Florida Estate Plan

Not having a will or trust means that at your death the distribution of your assets will be dictated by the inheritance laws of the state where you were domiciled, likely Florida. These “intestacy laws” leave a percentage of assets to various members of your family. While there’s a small chance that the laws will accomplish what you wanted, that’s unlikely. Your will applies to the disposition of your “probate assets,” those things that are not following a beneficiary designation. Non-probate assets will pass by operation of law or contract. For example, whoever the beneficiary designation was when you originally began your 401(k) or IRA will override either your will or the laws of intestacy. This could easily lead to distribution of your assets to people you may not anticipate.

July 5, 2012

How does a Florida living will work?

by David M. Goldman

In Florida a living will can contain an advance medical directive. A living will is a statement of your wishes for the kind of life-sustaining medical intervention you want, or don’t want, in the event that you become terminally ill and unable to communicate. A living will is typically used by people to identify the point at which they no longer desire certain types of life-prolonging medical treatment. The Advanced medical directive can also lay out an individual’s desire for continuation of treatment in the even that the individual is unable to communicate their desires or but is not in one of the predefined terminal medical states that they have already communicated their desires in relation to medical care.

Living wills are very important legal documents with legal power. Assuming the proper procedure has been followed, a patient’s wishes are taken very seriously, and a living will is one of the best ways to have a say in your medical care when you can’t express yourself otherwise.

Once your living will has been drafted, make sure it’s signed and on file with your Florida estate planning attorney. You should also provide a copy to:

July 1, 2012

Florida Wills Must Be in Writing

by Patricia Davis

Although your parents have for years been telling you (and anyone else who will listen) that they are leaving their home to you, if they don’t put their words in writing, you WILL NOT get their home upon their death. In Florida, Wills Must Be in Writing, the Florida Statutes are clear about this. If someone dies and has not left a writing evidencing wishes as to how his/her belongings are to be distributed, then the estate is distributed according to the Intestacy statute.

In the Florida case In Estate of Corbin v. Sherman, the First District Court of Appeal considered a written will which contained the following language,”I give, bequeath and devise all of my estate of whatsoever kind and nature to Betty Sherman to dispose of as she has been instructed to do by me”.

The Court concluded that the language in this clause, “clearly attempts to devise the decedent’s property to Ms. Sherman for Sherman to distribute according to oral instructions from the decedent.” As Florida does not recognize oral wills, the court likewise, invalidated this Will.

June 22, 2012

Florida Elders can Improve Memory through Exercise

by Patricia Davis

Jacksonville Elder Law Lawyers keep up with legal matters as well as non-legal matters when it comes to advocating and educating the elderly. A recent article published in the Times of India discusses a study conducted by scientists at the University of South Florida and the University of Shanghai.

The findings of an 8 month controlled trial, compared a group of Chinese seniors who practiced Tai Chi (a Chinese form of self-defense that has evolved into a graceful exercise) 3 times a week to a group with no intervention. The results of the study found increases in brain volume and improvements on tests of memory and thinking in those seniors who practiced Tai Chi three times a week. The same trial also showed increases in brain volume and more limited cognitive improvements in a group that participated in lively discussions 3 times per week over the same period.

This was the first trial to show that a less aerobic form of exercise, Tai Chi, as well as stimulating conversation, led to increases in brain volume and improvements on psychological tests of memory and thinking.

June 6, 2012

Removing a Personal Representative in a Florida Probate

by David M. Goldman

In Florida the personal representative is appointed by a court and does not become a personal representative until appointed even if they are named as the personal representative in a decedent’s Will. The court will look first to any Will that specifies the priority of a Florida personal representative. If there is no Will, the court will look first to a surviving spouse and then a person selected by a majority of the heirs.

It is difficult but not impossible to remove a personal representative who has been appointed by the court unless there has been a failure to provide proper notice of the probate proceeding.

Removing A Florida Personal Representative