Florida Estate Planning 101
Creating a proper estate plan in Florida isn't difficult - as long as you use the right attorney. We asked Sarah E. Peart, an attorney from Tampa Florida whose practice focuses mainly in the areas of...
Estate Planning Basics
Estate Planning: How Florida Law Differs From Other States
Estate planning laws vary by state and Florida legal experts say that if you relocate, you definitely have to look at the law of the state you are in to see if your Florida will is still valid. At th...
What instructions should I leave behind for my children’s guardian in the event of my death?
Determining a guardian for your children can be a difficult decision. Your children's guardian will have the authority to make or influence all parental decisions for your children including where the...
What is elder law?
Elder law is an area of law that focuses on the legal needs of the elderly. These needs generally include retirement planning, life insurance, medical costs, and estate planning. Consult an elder law ...
How To Avoid or Reduce Estate Taxes
Estate taxes do not, by and large, affect the vast majority of Americans, but to those who plan to leave millions upon their death, it pays in spades to understand recent changes to federal estate tax...
If I die, I do not want my spouse to remarry until our children are grown. Is there anything I can do?
Spouses cannot control the actions of the surviving spouse from the grave. In fact, most states will even strike down instructions placed in prenuptial agreements that give such instructions, given th...
How can I find a deceased person’s annuity or life insurance policy?
Locating annuity and life insurance accounts after someone's death can be a difficult task. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques that can be used to find missing policies. First, it is import...
Family Business & Your Estate
Many estate-planning tools can be used to transfer your business, but selecting the right one will depend, in part, on whether you plan to retire and let someone else run it for you, sell it, give it ...
How To Change a Beneficiary on a Life Insurance Policy
A life insurance beneficiary is an assigned person who will receive payment of your life insurance money in the event of your death. In most circumstances, a life insurance beneficiary change is as ea...
How To Ensure Your Children Inherit Your Property after Your Spouse Dies
Proper estate planning is at the core of making sure that your property is transferred to the right family members at your death. In the case of order of inheritance, everything depends upon the state...
How To Prevent Your Family’s Assets From Being Frozen in Probate
Probate is a long process that publicly sorts through your family's assets. On average, probate can take anywhere from nine months to two years. During the first period of probate proceedings, your fa...
How To Take Care of a Mentally Disabled Child Through a Trust
A special needs trust is formed with the intent of providing for a mentally disabled beneficiary after you die. Without a trust, the property given to the child in your will would be controlled by a g...
What is an estate?
An estate consists of all the property a person owns or controls. The estate property may be in his or her sole name, held in a partnership, in a joint ownership arrangement, or through a trust. Estat...
How To Create Right of Survivorship Using a Survivorship Agreement
Right of survivorship can be created in community property using a survivorship agreement. A survivorship agreement dictates that all community property passes to the survivor outright. ...
Why hire an estate planning attorney?
This article focuses on the considerations a person should take into account when deciding whether to hire an estate planning attorney to draft a will. Whether hiring an attorney is the right approach...
Guardianship Provisions
Ensuring that your children are well cared-for in the event of your death is usually the very first provision of a simple will. This 'guardianship provision' requires specific language to ensure that ...
How To Give Property to Children Before Death
You don't have to wait until you pass away to give your wealth to your family. In fact, in the case of large estates, it is frequently in your best interests to take advantage of the gift tax exemptio...
Estate Taxes & Irrevocable Trusts
Estate tax is applied to any estate worth more than a set annual amount. One way to avoid excessive estate taxes is through an irrevocable trust. Wealth placed into an irrevocable trust is not conside...
How can an estate plan prevent probate of my estate?
Estate plan uses several tools to prevent a court from gaining jurisdiction over your estate in the event of your death....
Spouse’s Legal Rights to a Deceased’s Spouse’s Assets
In a community property state, upon death, spouses have the right to dispose of their share of community property in whatever way they see fit. A deceased spouse can distribute both their separate pro...
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