Category Archives: Wills Probate
How Estate Planning Can Help Prevent Elder Exploitation
Older generations of Americans are vulnerable to financial exploitation by a broad spectrum of perpetrators. Unfortunately, this includes not only strangers, but also people they know, trust, and welcome into their lives. Elder exploitation cases are normally complex and can be difficult to fully investigate and pursue. Elders can lose their life savings and… Read More »
Gifting in Life vs. After Death
In Florida the estate tax, commonly referred to as the “death tax,” will only affect the estates with a taxable value that exceeds the federal estate tax threshold. In 2024 the federal estate tax threshold sits at $13.61 million for individuals. This means that married couples will only have to worry about estate taxes… Read More »
Tips for Using Photos as a Clarification Strategy in Estate Planning
Along with purely financial assets and property, clients also usually use a last will and testament (or other estate planning tools such as trusts) to pass down important sentimental items. Many families retain heirlooms that hold important value to the family, while not holding a particularly high financial value. The issue with these kinds… Read More »
Elder Exploitation and Estate Planning in Florida
It is widely understood that areas with a larger percentage of senior citizens will have a larger likelihood for incidents of elder abuse to occur. Florida stands as a retirement beacon for the rest of the U.S. and, indeed, to the rest of the world. Because Florida has such a large percentage of elderly… Read More »
Essential Florida Asset Protection and Estate Planning Strategies: Part II
In the first installment of this two part series, we began discussing the plethora of estate planning and asset protection options Florida law has for its citizens to take advantage of. Different tools serve different needs, and many options exist to help every Floridian safeguard their hard-earned assets. Today, we continue the conversation and… Read More »
Essential Florida Asset Protection and Estate Planning Strategies
Florida provides its residents with a diverse array of asset protection and estate planning strategies which can be utilized to safeguard assets from potential risk and solidify your estate plan. In this two-part series, we will generally discuss a few of the essential strategies that Florida residents can use to protect their assets and… Read More »
Class Gifts: Leaving Assets to a Group
A class gift refers to a group of assets that is given to a group of beneficiaries and then divided among them. The group of beneficiaries that a class gift is meant for can be expected to change – either by expanding, or potentially growing smaller – between the time a last will and… Read More »
Strategies to Include Long-Term Flexibility in Florida Trusts
Planning for the unknown is an important skill that comes into play in many areas of life – and it can significantly impact estate planning. Particularly when it comes to building the appropriate trust for your estate – it can be essential to think through the “what ifs” and anticipate the unexpected happening. Intentionally… Read More »
What is the Rule Against Perpetuities – and How Does it Work in Florida?
The term “rule against perpetuities” is something you are unlikely to encounter unless you are in the midst of some kind of estate building, probate issue, or in the middle of a law school classroom. As we have discussed in previous articles, several items in our modern-day law are evolutions of ideas and concepts… Read More »
Mental Capacity in Florida Probate
Our office recently offered a brief article discussing some of the facts we currently know about the Sergio and Tatiana Pino case. While our last article briefly discussed some of the facts and questions surrounding Florida joint tenancy, this article will further discuss some of the claims and challenges currently in play in the… Read More »