Florida Trust & Probate Attorneys Blog

How fundamentally has the 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) changed estate planning? It may have taken a year for this consensus to develop, but the simple answer that was apparent at the recent 48th Annual Heckling Institute on Estate Planning is this: Profoundly; there is a new paradigm in estate planning. Paul Lee, the…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Trust Attorney Who is the first to greet you when you come home? For me, it used to be my young daughters or son. But now that my youngest daughter is a teenager (and too cool for such shows of affection) those days are past. So now the first to…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney The saddest and most tragic call I have ever received as a lawyer came when a parent called and said her teenage son, while operating a jet ski, had run over a young girl who happened to be about the age of my daughter. I declined the…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Probate Attorney We have written about this issue in the past, but it is one that keeps popping up. Here are the relevant facts. Note: I have changed some facts to avoid disclosure of private information. Recently, we reviewed a New York will where the drafting attorney named himself…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Trust Attorney Quote: There are three things that are real – God, human folly and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension. So we must do what we can with the third. – John F. Kennedy Here are five bad items of advice – that you hear all…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Trust Attorney ¿Qué es un fideicomiso de vida? ¿Cómo ayuda a evitar la legalización? ¿Por qué la mayoría de familias están usando un fideicomiso de vida en vez de un testamento para proporcionar para sus queridos? Estas preguntas y muchas más tienen respuesta en nuestro informe popular, Comprendiendo Fideicomiso…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Probate Attorney I. Determining Survivors The personal representative has a duty to bring an action for the wrongful death of the decedent. F.S. 768.20. The Act provides for damages for the estate and “survivors”. Survivors include the surviving spouse, “minor children” under 25 years of age, and in some…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Trust Attorney Summary: The following Alert discusses the Florida real estate form DR-430 required to be filed upon the cumulative transfer or control of more than 50% of the legal entity that owned the property, or transfer of more than 50% of ownership interest. Notice of Change of Ownership…

By Phillip B. Rarick This summer my family had the opportunity to travel to France. It was a busy trip, and we saw many spectacular works of art and architecture by past generations of artists. The most special trip was our visit Normandy, where a generation of Americans representing the diversity of this country, challenged…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Asset Protection Attorney Let’s face it. If you have adult children, now married or considering marriage, you are a little concerned that your daughter’s husband could someday inherit your hard earned wealth. (Or maybe it’s your son’s wife.) So, how do you protect your property, and make sure it goes…