Combine the economic challenges of the past few months caused by the coronavirus pandemic with the 2020 presidential election, and it stands to reason that changes could be in store for the U.S. tax code. A clear connection exists between economic realities,...
Guardianship: When do courts appoint a guardian?
Making decisions for one’s self is an important part of being an adult, whether those decisions relate to what to have for dinner or which hospital to choose for an important medical procedure. This independence is important to Florida residents and it is difficult to...
Create motivation with an incentive trust
As part of an estate plan, trusts are often geared around delaying payment of money to heirs who are minors or setting that money aside for a specific use, as is the case with education trusts and special needs trusts. However, you can also use them to motivate your...
Here’s what to know about probating assets
You want to make sure you leave as little work to your family as possible when you pass away, which is why you’ve worked on your estate plan since a young age. You take care to update it regularly, too. Now that you’ve moved to a new state, it’s time to take a look at...
How regularly should I update my estate plan?
Estate planning may seem like a one-and-done deal, but that’s not the case. Drafting an estate plan is only the beginning of the process; keeping your estate plan updated is what’s necessary. Without an updated estate plan in place, if you fall ill or pass away...
Estate planning is something most people haven’t done
There is one key legal step that most Americans simply haven’t gotten around to doing yet, even though all of them will need to do it at some point: They still need to create an estate plan to make end-of-life decisions and leave their assets to their heirs. It’s...
Health care: Power of attorney vs health care proxy
Have you planned for the possibility that you might become incapacitated or disabled? Many people do not properly address this issue during their estate planning efforts. When left to chance, this estate plan omission could result in hardship for your surviving family...
Leaving your intellectual property to your heirs
Are you an entrepreneur or an artist? Whether you create beautiful works of art or design video games for a living, you may have invested a significant amount of your life into a vast -- and valuable -- body of work. Your intellectual property (IP) deserves to be...
Estate planning: Naming a guardian for your minor children
As you may know, estate planning gives you the power to direct how your property and assets are managed in the event of death or incapacity. Although most people do not look forward to addressing end-of-life matters, they typically feel better once the tasks are...
The catch with current estate tax legislation
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of December 2017, the implications of federal taxes on estate planning may seem straightforward. The Act appears to favor all individuals under the extremely high-income threshold. However, there are important things to understand about...
