A personal representative is the person or entity appointed by a probate judge to oversee the administration of a deceased person’s probate estate. Unfortunately, disputes sometimes arise regarding this role. For example, prior to death, a person may ask more than one person to act as the personal representative of his or...
How Estate Planning Can Prevent Elder Exploitation
Most people are familiar with elder abuse, which involves physically or emotionally harming a senior citizen. Less commonly understood, however, is the illicit practice of elder exploitation. As opposed to mental and physical types of abuse, elder exploitation is of a financial nature. Specifically, elder exploitation is the fraudulent or otherwise illegal,...
The Benefits of Revocable Trusts
Advertisements, seminars and books which promote revocable living trusts foster the misconception that probate is an evil to be avoided. Living trusts are also touted as devices which avoid estate taxes and protect assets from long-term health care costs.
The reality is that probate is usually not a difficult...
5 Key Estate Planning Steps
Over half of all adults in the U.S. do not have an estate plan in place. One explanation for this phenomenon is that many people simply don’t know how to get started with estate planning. This is understandable: estate planning can seem like a daunting task. The reality, though, is that creating...
7 Tips for Avoiding Probate in Florida
Probate can often be avoided in Florida when assets are set up with clear transfer instructions ahead of time. This court-supervised process is used to transfer assets when someone dies without those instructions in place. Tools like beneficiary designations, trusts, and proper titling allow many assets to pass directly to loved ones...
What Happens When You Die Without a Will
When one dies without a will, commonly referred to dying intestate, the laws of the state where the decedent resided at the time of his or her death determines what happens to that person's assets. In many states, where one dies leaving a spouse and no children, all assets go to the...
Marriage and Probate in Florida
One advantage of marriage in Florida is that it provides spouses with several legal benefits. One such benefit is related to probate, which is the process by which a deceased individual’s assets are legally transferred to his or her rightful heirs. When a married person dies, his or her surviving spouse is entitled...
The Different Types of Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a powerful estate planning tool. However, there are several different types of powers of attorney, and each is used for different purposes. Therefore, before executing a power of attorney, it’s important to understand which option is best for you. In this article, we examine the different types of power...
The Pros and Cons of Beneficiary Designations
Clients are often encouraged by advisors at financial institutions to name beneficiaries on their savings and investment accounts; however, doing so is not always beneficial for everyone.
The primary advantage of naming beneficiaries on one’s accounts is that probate is avoided. At one’s death, the asset passes to the beneficiary simply by presentation...
How to Pay for Long-Term Care
It used to be that purchasing long-term care insurance was the best way to finance long-term health care costs, whether it be provided at home, with an aide, or in an assisted living or nursing facility. If one currently has long-term care insurance, then you should consider yourself very lucky and you should hold...