Trust and Estate Law in Florida

Trust and Estate law handles the protection of assets during a person’s life, as well as the distribution of these assets after death. It is important for people to plan the distribution of their assets early on, and to prepare them with a lawyer.

What Happens to an IRA With No Beneficiary Designation?

When you establish your IRA, you have the opportunity to designate beneficiaries - -people who will receive the funds in your account after you pass away. And most married people name their spouse as beneficiary. But what if you and your spouse pass away in a common accident? Or your spouse passes away and you don’t name a new beneficiary before you pass away?
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Probating Your Will Before You Die

State laws vary as to when custodians must file a decedent’s Will with their local probate courts. Most states allow testators or Will drafters to file their Wills with their local probate courts before they die. This way, Will drafters can avoid potential confusion as to where they stored their Wills.
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How a Power of Attorney and a Revocable Living Trust Work Together

If you have a Revocable Living Trust, you know that it can serve as an essential incapacity planning tool. If you’re ever disabled – through illness or injury – to the point that you can no longer manage your own financial affairs, your Disability Trustee can step in and take over your trust property. However, if a Revocable Living Trust is the only estate planning tool in your incapacity plan, then there are probably gaps that need to be filled.
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The Pros and Cons of a Pooled Trust

Everyone knows that long-term care is expensive, and it’s not likely to get more affordable in the near future. Figuring out how to pay for a nursing home or another form of long-term care has become a nagging concern for countless families. What happens if you have too much income or too many assets to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough savings to foot the entire bill for long-term care?
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Proving the Validity and Authenticity of a Will in Florida

Once a custodian of a will locates a decedent’s will, he must file it within 10 days of receiving notice of the decedent’s death. After the custodian files it with the probate court in the county where the decedent died, the probate court will conduct a cursory review of the will to establish its validity and authenticity. Probate courts can validate a testator’s will by using one of three different validation and authentication methods.
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Creating a Self-Proving Will in Florida

To get around the judicial process of authenticating a will, the Florida legislature enacted Section 732.503 of the Florida Statutes within the Florida Probate Code. To create a self-proving will, a testator must comply with the legal requirements to create a valid will. In addition to signing a will in front of two impartial witnesses who also provide their signatures, a testator will self-prove his will in front of a notary using a statutory acknowledgement form.
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Common Questions about Florida Oral Wills

Oral wills were traditionally used when a person was too sick or otherwise unable to write. Question 1: What is a nuncapative will? - Answer: A nuncapative will is simply a fancy way to say oral or verbal will. With an oral will, the testator—the person who makes the will—states his or her wishes verbally instead of writing them down.
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Difference Between an Irrevocable and a Revocable Trust?

When you’re deciding what type of trust you need, it’s important to understand what’s available to you. Trusts fall into a few basic categories, and two of these categories are Irrevocable and Revocable.
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How Often Should You Review Your Estate Plan?

For example, what if your incapacity planning documents are old and don’t include the appropriate HIPAA language. In the event that you become disabled, your loved ones might have to end up going to court to get the right to make decisions on your behalf. And this is the very thing that an incapacity plan is meant to avoid.
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