The short method for making sure your estate is a mess is don’t make a will. This “Part One” blog will discuss not making a will. The next shortest method of making sure your estate is a mess is make the will incorrectly. Part Two of How to Make Sure Your Estate is a Mess […]
“Avoiding probate” has become a very popular goal of estate planning. Most people want the distribution of assets at their death to be simple, straightforward, and inexpensive. Even an abbreviated probate procedure in Florida (such as a summary administration) is neither simple, nor straightforward. Most people cannot handle it on their own and, hence, there […]
Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples The majority of folks, gay or not, ought to consider creating an estate plan. But gay couples have more to gain from creating an estate plan than do heterosexual couples, because many same-sex couples are not legally married, which makes them ineligible for the benefits of laws made to protect […]
Do I Really Need a Trust? People often ask, “do I need a trust”? The simple answer is “no.” You don’t need a trust any more than you need a bank account, or a car, or a will for that matter. I bet that answer does not help you choose to have a trust or […]
Clients have been asking if they need to change their Living Will in the new age of Covid-19. There is a simple answer and more nuanced answer to this question, and it raises some very important issues. The simple answer: You do not need to make changes to your advanced directive for coronavirus. A living […]
The easy answer is, not until July 2020. The ability to execute an electronic will takes effect on July 1, 2020. To confuse the issue however, online notarization of documents other than a will became effective on January 1, 2020. The process is very new, expensive, difficult, and, for life plan documents, limited. Choosing to […]
I hope the transition to the year 2020 brought joy and a fresh outlook. If you follow the news, you also know that it brought changes to the tax laws that may impact your life and estate planning. As part of budget legislation, the U.S. House and Senate passed the Setting Every Community Up for […]
Businesses use pdf documents, not pictures. When a business – perhaps your lawyer, accountant, title company, etc. – asks for a scanned copy of a document, they need it in a specific format called “pdf.” This is an Adobe Acrobat type of format and can be viewed or printed using any version of Acrobat. Acrobat […]
Is My Current Power of Attorney Effective? Do not assume that your old power of attorney will be effective. The Florida power of attorney statute changed dramatically in 2011. Effective on October 1, 2011, the Legislature amended Chapter 709 of the Florida Statutes and completely rewrote the laws regarding powers of attorney. Among other things, […]
Life planning is the thoughtful arrangement of assets and preparation of legal documents to organize your life and direct your affairs according to your values and choices. It allows you and your loved ones to navigate through emergencies and predictable life changes with the least stress, expense, and difficulty possible. The first step in life […]