Estate Planning

When you create a durable power of attorney for your financial matters, one of the most important decisions you will need to make is who will serve as your agent for your power of attorney. You might be able to think of someone immediately whom you would like to select as your agent, but you should consider several factors before settling on this issue. Your close friend or relative might not be the best choice.

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When you create a durable power of attorney for your financial matters, one of the most important decisions you will need to make is who will serve as your agent for your power of attorney. You might be able to think of someone immediately whom you would like to select as your agent, but you should consider several factors before settling on this issue. Your close friend or relative might not be the best choice.

A Florida estate planning attorney can help you sort through the relevant considerations and discuss the powers and responsibilities of an agent for a financial power of attorney. In addition to answering your questions to help you in choosing the right financial agent for your durable power of attorney, the lawyer can draft the document for you to sign.
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President Biden signed The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 into law on August 16, 2022. In its shortened form, the Act did not include or address many proposals that would have concerned members of the estate planning community and high-worth individuals and families. If you are concerned that you may need to change your estate plan after the passage of this legislation, a Florida estate planning attorney can answer your questions.
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If you have a will in place, you may be wondering if you can make changes to it after it has been signed. Is it advisable to make a handwritten change to a will without an attorney? The answer is you should make revisions to a will after consulting with an attorney to ensure your changes will be honored after you pass. Our Florida estate planning attorney can help you properly update or change a will.
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If you are considering preparing a will, trust or other directives, you may wonder if you need to hire an estate planning attorney. While many attorneys may be generally know about wills, not every attorney specializes in estate planning. Estate planning can involve complex issues best handled by an attorney familiar with estate and other tax issues, preparing wills, protecting assets from Medicaid, differences between trusts, and much more. Setting up a personalized consultation with our Florida estate planning attorney is only a phone call away.

What Is an Estate Plan?

An estate plan is a pre-planned course of action that determines how a person’s property and other items will be taken care of after death or in case they become incapacitated.
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529 Plans that can help pay college expenses for a grandchild come with both advantages and disadvantages. When used strategically, these tax-advantaged plans can reduce gift and estate taxes as well as taxes on gains or withdrawals. Unfortunately, owning a 529 Plan could make you ineligible for Medicaid, including Florida Medicaid long-term care benefits.

Getting the optimal benefits from tax law and Medicaid regulations can be a fine balancing act. The rules can change, causing you to need to take actions to preserve your tax advantages, Medicaid eligibility and provide college funding for your grandchildren.
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Usually, business succession does not go well without a plan. Eventually, business succession will happen with or without a plan because we are all mortal. When you think about all the work you put into building and running your business, you owe it to yourself to develop a plan for how you will step away and whether you want to sell the business.

There are many aspects to a business succession plan, and one should have a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C because life can be unpredictable, and many things are not controllable. A Florida business law attorney can talk to you about how to plan for business succession and the sale of a business and draft the necessary documents.
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Many Floridians who engage in estate planning use trusts for various reasons. Trusts can limit tax exposure, take certain property out of the probate process, or be used for Medicaid planning. Working with a Florida estate planning attorney to prepare a trust is a good first step. However, after all the paperwork is done, properly funding the trust is an equally important step.

What Does it Mean to Fund a Trust?

Funding a trust refers to transferring or directing assets to a trust, once created.
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Age gaps between spouses are common. Spouses may be a few years apart in age. However, some couples may have a significant age gap, which could impact specific issues such as retirement planning and estate planning. A Florida estate planning attorney helps you develop a plan that meets your needs and desires, regardless of the difference in your ages.

Estate Planning Issues for Couples With Big Age Gaps

Each couple is unique.
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In many families, the family dynamic can include the dramatic elements of one child being the favorite and another child getting cut out of a parent’s will. When a child gets disinherited because of favoritism toward another child or a broken relationship between the disinherited child and the parent, that child often wants to know if they have any legal recourse.

While this sounds like a simple question, there can be different answers, depending on the specific circumstances. A Florida estate planning attorney could help you contest a will or protect your will from getting successfully contested. Let’s take a look at the question, can a disinherited child contest a will in Florida?

The Age of the Child

Under Florida law, a parent has a legal duty to care for all of their minor children.
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Receiving a windfall like a personal injury settlement can be something that an older adult dreams of, until the fallout from the settlement starts. If you receive Medicaid benefits and rely on that for your health insurance and eligibility for other public assistance programs, getting a personal injury settlement could disqualify you from the Medicaid program.

A Florida estate planning attorney can help you navigate the situation by using existing legal strategies to protect your eligibility for Medicaid. Let’s talk about your options for receiving Medicaid benefits after a personal injury settlement.

Why You Could Lose Medicaid Eligibility if You Receive a Personal Injury Settlement Directly

Currently, there is a limit of $2,000 in countable assets for an individual to be eligible for Medicaid benefits.
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