Florida Trust & Probate Attorneys Blog

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…

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…

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…

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”…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq.* Action Item Done 1. No weak links. Each physician in group has personal creditor protection plan. The goal is to have no exposed assets for plaintiff malpractice attorney to attack forcing plaintiff to settle within insurance policy limits. See points 2-5 below.   2. Each physician has domestic or off-shore…

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 document is referred to as…

By Jefferson H. Weaver, Esq. Documentary Stamps Due On Sale Buyers and sellers of real estate in Florida have some familiarity with the documentary stamp tax as it invariably shows up on their settlement statements as a closing cost. Whether the seller alone or both the seller and buyer pay documentary stamp taxes depends on…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq.* Action Item Done 1. No weak links. Each physician in group has personal creditor protection plan. The goal is to have no exposed assets for plaintiff malpractice attorney to attack forcing plaintiff to settle within insurance policy limits. See points 2-5 below.   2. Each physician has domestic or off-shore…

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 avoid creditor attack.  …

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney Florida’s new LLC statute that became effective this past January 1, 2015 made fundamental changes in the state’s limited liability company laws. These changes are so basic that we recommend that you should have a Miami asset protection attorney review all LLC’s created prior to 2015. A…