Articles Posted in Estate Planning

5 Common Mistakes with Do It Yourself Florida Wills
Rarick & Bowden Gold

By: Jacqueline R. Bowden, Weston Wills Attorney Do it yourself (or “DIY”) projects are becoming common in today’s highly technological age, especially when considering websites like Pinterest and Houzz. In most cases, including home projects, an individual may have several chances to complete a task correctly. Unfortunately, when it comes to drafting a Will, the…

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Update in Law Alert: Changes to Florida’s Healthcare Designation Law
Rarick & Bowden Gold

By: Jacqueline R. Bowden, Miramar Estate Planning Attorney As of October 1, 2015, Florida’s Healthcare Designation laws, provided under Chapter 765 of Florida Statutes, have changed providing more flexibility for the person appointing the surrogate, formerly known as the “principal.” Three Options. Currently, for a healthcare surrogate to make medical decisions, the attending physician must…

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Florida Personal Representative Checklist
Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Probate Attorney You are named the personal representative (or executor in other states) and a loved one or family member has just died. No doubt these are difficult times, but thankfully there are many resources for help. The following is a checklist of initial important tasks to help guide you…

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Florida Successor Trustee Checklist
Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Trust Attorney You are named the successor trustee and the trustmaker has just died. No doubt these are difficult times, but thankfully there are many resources to help. The following is a checklist of initial important tasks to help guide you after the funeral or memorial service. Note: You are…

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5 Warning Signs That A Trust Is Not Performing
Rarick & Bowden Gold

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 the needs of the beneficiaries…

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Securing Payment of Child Support with a Children’s Safe Harbor Trust
Rarick & Bowden Gold

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 the policy premiums by use…

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Florida Trust Services For Family Law Attorneys
Rarick & Bowden Gold

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 be spent exactly as…

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Consider Non-Family Member as Successor Trustee
Rarick & Bowden Gold

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 your estate plan is your…

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Successor Trustee Duties
Rarick & Bowden Gold

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 help. It is important that…

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Asset Protection Checklists For Florida Physicians
Rarick & Bowden Gold

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 be scrutinized by an “expert”…

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