If an accident or other catastrophe claims your life before you write your last will and testament, Florida’s intestacy laws will, in effect, write your will for you. As the Florida Bar points out, this means that your closest relatives will receive statutorily...
Estate Planning
What traits should you look for when choosing a good executor?
When you first decide to write out your will, you may feel overwhelmed at the idea of choosing a person who will oversee your final wishes after your death. You may wonder what the significance of this role is. In order to find the best fit possible for the role, you...
4 estate planning documents you need and a letter of instruction
At first glance, the estate planning process may seem somewhat overwhelming, but it is less complicated than you think. Here are four basic estate planning tools for you to consider along with a letter of instruction. 1. Last will and testament In your will, you can...
Are you dealing with a manipulative executor?
An executor holds a position of high esteem and power in any estate plan. For most people, their executor remains a stalwart figure they can trust through thick and thin, depend on, and rely on to carry out their wishes no matter what. But unfortunately, some...
Is it time to update your estate plan?
After creating an estate plan, many people will simply leave it and forget about it for years or even decades to come. In reality, however, an estate plan should change just as often as your life does. After all, an outdated estate plan is almost as bad as having no...
3 things your personal representative should know
Once you appoint someone to serve as the personal representative over your Florida estate, there are certain things you need to tell this person so that he or she is able to do the job well. Serving as someone’s personal representative is often daunting, so the...
How to ensure that your business will live on after you
If you are a business owner, your company is an important part of who you are. But what will happen to the business when you are no longer here? You can keep the company up and running with the help of some prudent estate planning. Consider a buy-sell agreement...
Do you need a power of attorney if you have a living trust?
Even though a dementia diagnosis is likely to stop you in your tracks, you are not alone in the future you face. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that roughly 6.8 million Americans are living with dementia. About 200,000 of these are...
What is an advance directive?
When making an estate plan, you may initially focus on how you can set things up for the future after your death. Of course, this is a crucial matter to cover, and you want things to run smoothly in terms of transference of assets and property. But did you know that...
Why is it important to choose a good executor?
Having an estate plan can help you articulate your plans for the future. Within your strategy, you can provide your family with instructions for the distribution of your remaining assets after your death. Seeing that your plan functions as you intend will require the...