Florida Trust & Probate Attorneys Blog

READ THIS BEFORE DRAFTING YOUR OWN WILL

Published on: March 25, 2020 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By: Jacqueline R. Bowden Gold, Miami Lakes and Weston Estate Planning Attorney

Don’t make the mistake of drafting your own Will and estate plan to save money. With general forms available and online companies that claim to walk you through the “easy” drafting process, it is common to fall prey to their low-priced services. As a Florida Probate and Medicaid Planning attorney, I see the harmful after- effects of “do it yourself” wills: high legal fees to clean up ambiguities and sometimes open warfare among the family because of lack of clarity regarding the decedent’s true wishes.

For other common mistakes not discussed in this article read: 5 Common Mistakes with Do It Yourself Florida Wills.

Alert: Florida’s Remote Online Notarization Begins January 1, 2020

Published on: December 23, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By: Phil Rarick, Weston Estate Planning Attorney

Editor’s Note: The following is a public service Alert from Rarick & Bowden Gold, P.A. This firm does not offer or recommend Remote Online Notarization Service providers.

Beginning January 1, 2020 Florida joins 20 other states allowing Remote Online Notarization or “RON” for deeds, mortgages and other instruments. Beginning July 1, 2020 RON will be available for “electronic wills” and other testamentary documents. See Florida Ch. 2019-71. This Alert will discuss the RON process for non-testamentary documents that will be of interest to real estate attorneys. A subsequent Alert designed for estate planning attorneys will discuss the new law’s requirements for Florida electronic wills and other estate planning documents that commence July 1.

Florida Treasure Hunt: Check It Now! Florida Unclaimed Property Law

Published on: December 21, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Asset Protection Attorney

If you have never checked Florida’s website for lost accounts and abandoned property you should do so – immediately. You may be pleasantly surprised!

You may think that it is not possible that you have any “unclaimed” property held by the State of Florida – and you could be wrong.

The One Inconvenient Truth About the “Living Trust Revolution”

Published on: September 3, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phil Rarick & Jacqueline Bowden Gold, Weston Estate Planning Attorneys

In 1992 estate planning attorneys Robert Esperti and Renno Peterson wrote the best selling book, The Living Trust Revolution that captured the major shift in estate planning arising from the $6.8 trillion worth of wealth transfer beginning to take place in the United States. That was 1992. With the baby boom generation now retiring it is estimated that nearly 45 million U.S. households will hand down about $68.4 trillion over the course of the next quarter-decade, according to research firm Cerulli Associates. Note: the estimate of this massive wealth transfer is now ten times the size from 1992!

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The living trust revolution correctly foresaw the shift in estate planning from wills, as the cornerstone of estate plans, to living revocable trusts. This revolution has helped many families avoid the cost of probate and keep legal control within the family for managing the wealth transfer. I am convinced it has helped prevent many family disputes and outright family wars that break out when the family patriarch or matriarch dies without a well drafted trust. A well drafted trust lays out clear instructions about the family matriarch’s wishes and intentions. It is when the matriarch leaves “in a vacuum” instructions that she creates an environment for family warfare.

One Thing Every Parent Should Have For Their Children – Instructions!

Published on: September 3, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

One Thing Every Parent Should Have For Their Children – Instructions!

By Phil Rarick, Weston Estate Planning Attorney

You and your spouse are finally going out for the evening. The babysitter, a high school student, has arrived and you are loading the young woman with last-minute instructions: time for bed, make sure the kids brush their teeth, books to read little Tommy, etc, etc. What is ironic is many such fretful parents leave more instructions for their babysitter when they are out for a brief night out than they would if they suddenly died.

3 Ways Family Law Attorneys Can Use Irrevocable Minor Trusts

Published on: March 20, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Weston Estate Planning Attorney

Irrevocable minors trusts should always be an important tool in the Family Law Attorneys bag of tools because a well designed trust can address multiple issues that cannot be fully resolved through a Marital Settlement Agreement. It may be a good idea to brainstorm possible trust solutions with an experienced estate planning attorney at the commencement of the case. Here are three examples:

Problem #1: Wife, Husband (or both) are Poor Money Managers. Example: Husband and wife have minor children, ages 8 and 10. Wife is big shopper and bad money manager. Your client is the Husband. He is concerned that if child support payments go directly to wife she will use some of the funds to buy expensive clothing and keep up her lavish life style – to the detriment of the children. Both parents agree that they want to ensure that the children go to a private high school and a prestigious college or university after high school.

What Is the Federal Gift Tax Annual Exclusion for 2019?

Published on: February 13, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq. and Jay R. Beskin, Esq.

Last year the Federal annual gift tax exclusion was $15,000 and the amount remains the same for 2019. This means you can walk down the street and give out $15,000 to every person you meet and not have to file a gift tax return. If you are married, husband and wife can combine their annual exclusions and give $30,000 to each child or grandchild. As long as your gifts are below the annual exclusion amount, they are not counted against the lifetime gift exemption which is currently $11.4 million per person (Note: Be careful this is temporary and expected to drop to $5.6 million in 2026).

Note: Be very careful about making outright gifts to children. It is far safer to use a “Gifting Trust” so that the money is wisely used for the child’s college education or other needs – and so that the child does not blow it when he turns 18 or his creditors grab it when he is in his 20’s.

When Bad Things Happen To Good Families: Keeping Peace In The Family Upon Death Of Family Matriarch Or Patriarch

Published on: January 29, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By: Phil Rarick, Esq.

A Short Story With a Big Lesson

Everyone admired the Anderson family. Walter and Joan had 5 children and had worked hard all their lives to give their children the best of American life: each child received a car when they were a junior in high school – provided they had a 3.2 GPA. Two children went to FSU, two went to University of Miami, and one to Cornell. They all enjoyed the benefits from Walter and Joan’s small business – a flower import business next to the Miami airport. Walter and Joan had started the business 45 years ago, the year they were married, and it had grown into a business with 19 employees and many good customers including Publix.

Ensuring You Get Paid to Represent A Florida Trustee – And Avoiding A Conflict of Interest Sandtrap

Published on: January 29, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By: Phillip B. Rarick, Weston Estate Planning Attorney

In 2008 Florida passed an amendment to our Trust Code designed to allow a Trustee to use trust funds to pay legal fees incurred in defending a breach of trust litigation without prior court approval, so long as the Trustee gave notice to qualified beneficiaries of its intent to do so.

On its face, Florida Statute, F.S. 736.0802(10), seems to give the Trustee access to Trust funds to defend itself, but on closer examination, it creates a potential conflict of interest sandtrap.

3 Ways Your Thoughtful Florida Will Can Be Made Meaningless

Published on: January 23, 2019 | by Rarick & Bowden Gold

By: Phil Rarick

Here is a scenario we see more and more with persons who try to do estate planning themselves, specifically Florida Wills, without consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney. Louise has three adult daughters, Erma, Madeline, and Roseanne. The daughters are all close and speak to each other at least once a week. Louise wants to treat them all equally. Louise has four major assets: her home, a traditional IRA, a checking account, and a savings account.

Louise downloads a Florida Will form on the internet and says each child is to get one-third of everything she might own at death. She is careful to sign the will before a notary and two witnesses with a “Self-Proving Affidavit”. Louise dies, and the daughters schedule a meeting with a Probate Attorney. At the meeting the probate attorney informs the daughters that the Will is good under Florida law. However, despite the Will, 100% of the assets go to Erma. Madeline and Roseanne are not happy. How can this happen?