Wills •A new Florida will is almost always advisable for the divorced client, especially if there are minor children. •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…
One common mistake that people make when they have a spouse or children is to transfer their retirement accounts into their Florida Living Trust. Generally, retirement accounts are not subject to probate because you can name beneficiaries. If you name individual beneficiaries, each beneficiary is given the most flexibility in…
You have just been asked to be a successor trustee for a Florida Living Trust. What will your trustee duties and responsibilities be? Do you want to accept? Are their downsides? I ran across an interesting article and have applied some of it to Florida law. This note will help…
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…
As a Jacksonville Living Trust Lawyer, I have noticed many changes that effect the administration of Trusts, even those which were already in existence when on July 1, 2007 when the Florida’s New Trust Code became effective. If you are an estate planning attorney in another state and have clients…
Florida Estate Planning Lawyers often tell clients of the many advantages of a Florida trusts. When a client leaves property to heirs in a trust instead of outright, they can control how the property is used. The control can violate public policy or law, but often good estate planning can…
When you create a Florida Revocable Trust, your Florida Estate Planning Attorney should advise you on how to title accounts. One common question is about checking accounts. In most cases, the title (ownership) of the checking account should be changed to the name of the Florida Living Trust or Florida…
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…
Florida Spendthrift Trust: A trust established to provide a fund for an individual that includes a provision intended to secure it against that person’s lack of caution and protect it against the claims of creditors. A person can typically prevent against their own creditors but they can achieve some asset…
In Florida wills, Florida Trusts, and Florida Estate Planning it is important to deal with Pretermitted children. Make sure your Florida Estate Planning Attorney and the estate planning documents deal with them or you can have unexpected results. A Pretermitted Child A child by birth or adoption who became a…