Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

March 27, 2017

Creating a Plan for Minor Children

Estate planning has many benefits, with one of the best being that it allows our clients to have peace of mind. This peace of mind comes from knowing that your family members can be taken care of if something happens to you. This type of estate planning is especially important if you have minor children.

Parents are often so busy that they don’t have time to think about planning for their death or incapacity. A parent’s time is often spent thinking about getting kids to school, helping with homework, and providing a good lifestyle for their children. Unfortunately, tragedy can strike without warning, from an unexpected illness, on a highway, or as a result another catastrophe.

March 24, 2017

Protecting Assets From Nursing Home Expenses

by David M. Goldman

The following article by the Senior Directory is aimed at helping you learn options regarding the various payment options for Long-Term Care in a Nursing Home. It is not a Do-It-Yourself guide. Before doing anything drastic with your assets, consult a Florida Elder Law Attorney who can work out the particulars for your individual situation and make sure everything is filed correctly.

How much does Long Term Care at a Nursing Home cost?

National averages price long-term care facilities at about $250 a day. That comes out to $90,000 a year, which is just for basic care. Start adding in amenities, like Memory Care for Alzheimer’s patients, and that number quickly starts to rise. In North Florida the average cost can quickly increase from around $9,700 a month to $20,000 or even $30,000 a month.

March 16, 2017

Jacksonville Probate Attorney: Missing Beneficiaries

by David M. Goldman

Jacksonville Probate: How to Handle Missing Beneficiaries

Jacksonville probate attorneys often deal with a beneficiary that is alive, but no one knows this person’s address. If a beneficiary goes missing or cannot be found, then there are a few options including using professional heir search companies.

The first place to start is the Florida Rules of Probate, which requires formal notice to be sent to a number of different parties affected by the probate of the estate. The rule can be found under Florida Rule of Probate 5.040. The rule states the formal notice can be sent to the following parties:

March 14, 2017

Jacksonville Estate Planning For Single Parents

by David M. Goldman

Jacksonville Estate Planning For Single Parents

One of the best aspects of Jacksonville estate planning is that every plan can be tailored to a person’s life and specific needs. In Jacksonville, Estate planning is important for every person, but it is even more important when you are a single parent because estate planning can directly benefit minor children.

There are several issues that single parents need to consider with their Jacksonville estate planning attorneys. These are some of the common issues that single parents should consider.

March 3, 2017

Asset Protection Trusts Can Be Effective Prenuptial Agreements

by David M. Goldman

Florida Asset Protection Trusts and Domestic Asset Protection Trusts Can Be Effective Prenuptial Agreements

Planning for a divorce is never easy or fun, but divorce is an unfortunate reality in today’s world where almost half of all marriages end in divorce. Without legal planning, a spouse seeking a divorce is likely entitled to an equitable portion of the marital property. The traditional way to protect property from a divorce was through a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement; now there may be a better alternative by using a Florida asset protection trust.

So what happens if there is no legal planning? If the married couple fails to plan for the dissolution of marriage adequately, then the division of marital property will be left to the discretion of a judge during the process of an expensive and time-consuming divorce process.
Continue reading

February 20, 2017

Actual Fraud is it Fraud to Receive Fraudulent Transfers?

by David M. Goldman

One issue that has come before the Supreme Court is what is actual fraud, and does actual fraud included fraudulent transfers. Stated in another way, is it fraud to accept a fraudulent transfer. For a long time the answer depended on the judicial circuit. Now the Supreme Court has provided a firm answer.

So before we can determine the importance of the Supreme Court’s decision it is important to understand what actual fraud is in the context of bankruptcy law. The bankruptcy code bars the discharge of “any debt… for money, property, [or] services… to the extent obtained by… false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud.”

So how does the reception of fraudulent transfers fit within this definition of actual fraud?

The first step in answering this question is to determine how fraud is defined. The modern law concerning fraudulent transfers comes from the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act (UFTA), which was adopted in most states including Florida. The UFTA defines fraudulent transfers against present and future creditors as “a transfer made under obligation incurred by a debtor if made with actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud any creditor of the debtor.”

February 15, 2017

Florida Estate Planning For Second Marriage

by David M. Goldman

In Florida it can be crucial to do Estate Planning For Second Marriage

More and more Americans are getting remarried which is causing estate planning to become more complex. People are living much longer than in the past, which means that the rate of remarriage is occurring at a much higher frequency. A second marriage adds new obligations and rights for the new people in your life, while still keeping the obligations from your first marriage.

The effect of multiple marriages is that it could create multiple claims on a person’s estate. Many estate planning issues can be resolved with careful planning. Here are some key issues for estate planning for a second marriage.

1. Length of the New Marriage

The first issue that is common in estate planning is the duration of the subsequent marriage. For instance, say a person has a spouse with early Alzheimer’s. This person also has a retirement plan that named his children outside the marriage as beneficiaries. The couple has been married for eight years, and the person would be destitute without the spouse’s IRA. It may be time to think about changing the estate plan to include the new spouse, which would desperately need the funds from the retirement plan.

2. Children from the First Marriage or outside the current marriage

February 3, 2017

The Importance of a Durable Power of Attorney

by David M. Goldman

A Durable Power of Attorney is an important document, but sometimes having one can cause problems.

A recent Florida court ruling scored a major win in the fight against elder abuse. The case established that a health care proxy does not have the authority to waive the right to jury trial and bind a person to a contract.

The case is Hugh Moen v. Bradenton Council on Aging LLC, where the defendants, the nursing home, filed motions to dismiss and to compel binding arbitration. The plaintiff, Moen, was the personal representative of the estate of Norma Silverthrone, appealed the order granting the motions to dismiss. The appeals court sided with the personal representative.

Background on The Case

Norma Silverthorne was admitted to a nursing home in 2013. Her daughter, Susan Moen, accepted a health care proxy designation on her mother’s behalf. Norma never executed a durable power of attorney in her daughter’s favor. Susan signed the nursing home’s admission agreement, which contained a “Voluntary Arbitration Agreement.”
Continue reading

January 26, 2017

A Spendthrift Provision Can Protect Against Civil Judgments

by David M. Goldman

Yes A Spendthrift Provisions Can Protect Against Civil Judgments

What is a Spendthrift Provision? One of the best forms of asset protection we can provide is through a trust that contains a spendthrift provision. In a revocable trust, a spendthrift provision has some significant benefits such as protection against your beneficiaries’ creditors.

So what exactly does a spendthrift provision do? A spendthrift provision is a provision within a revocable or irrevocable trust that limits the beneficiary’s access to trust. This restriction protects the trust property in two ways, it prevents a beneficiary from selling his or her interest in the trust property as a beneficiary, and it prevents the beneficiary’s creditors from compelling the trustee to make distributions except where this would void public policy like in the case of alimony, child support and some civil judgements.
Continue reading

January 23, 2017

Warning Signs of Financial Abuse of the Elderly

by David M. Goldman

Warning Signs of Financial Abuse of the Elderly

Studies show that financial abuse of the elderly is a growing problem throughout the United States and especially here in Florida. The overall population is aging, and persons over 65 years old control about one-third of the wealth in the United States. This creates a big problem when you consider this group is much more susceptible to abuse due to health problems like dementia.

Estimates show that Americans loose nearly $3 billion a year due to financial abuse of the elderly from friends, loved ones, or even strangers. This abuse comes in the form of financial abuse, scams, and other types of exploitation. The worst part is this type of financial abuse of the elderly is that it usually goes undiscovered until all an elder’s money is gone.