By Phil Rarick, Esq. The sole reason most trusts exist is to serve the needs of the beneficiaries. It is not an employment program for the trustee or any other person. Therefore, a core test for whether a trust is performing – and performing efficiently – is to examine whether…
By: Phillip B. Rarick, Esq. Most divorce judgments call for one of the parties to obtain a life insurance policy for securing the payment of child support, alimony or some other financial obligation. Let’s assume the obligation is solely child support: a potential mistake is failure to secure payment of…
By Phil Rarick, Esq., Miami Trust Attorney Family law attorneys are increasingly using trusts to secure and safeguard the payment of financial obligations in their marital settlement agreements. Such trusts can provide the following key benefits: Security that payments will be made in a timely fashion Assurance that the monies will…
One of the most important decisions a baseball manager must make is his batting order – it can mean the difference between a win or loss. (We will not digress to the Marlin’s management decisions – although this is tempting.) One of the most important decisions you can make for…
12 Point Summary of Florida Successor Trustee Duties Note: Trust administration requires strict compliance with the trust terms and often analysis of complex tax requirements. A trustee is a fiduciary and is held to a high standard of care under Florida law. If you are a successor trustee, we can…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Weston Asset Protection Attorney The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is a current, hot selling book written by a physician and advising how to get things right by implementing commonsense systems. In today’s modern medicine, coupled with our information age, where virtually every procedure can…
By: Jacqueline R. Bowden and Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Estate Planning Attorneys A power of attorney is a legal instrument you may give to a trusted family member or friend (commonly called your attorney-in-fact or agent) to manage your financial affairs and act on your behalf. The person creating the…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney* Action Item Done Homestead is under ½ acre if in municipality; if not in municipality then under 160 acres Note: Consider leaving mortgage on property – even if not necessary – as excellent asset protection option. The mortgage can be paid down to…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq. and Jacqueline R. Bowden, Esq. For same-sex couples living in Florida, now is the time to take full advantage of rights long delayed to make sure that your spouse or partner is cared for come rain or shine. Here is a checklist of some of…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Trust Attorney A Living Will is not a will and it is not a living trust. It is simply detailed, legally binding instructions to your physician that you do not want to be maintained in a persistent vegetative state if there is zero possibility of…