Florida Legal Blog

A will can be beneficial to various estates, both big and small. In short, it provides a blueprint for distribution of the estate and helps to reduce or eliminate confusion.

If you are looking to develop or revise a will for your estate plan, consider a few important aspects. In fact, some elements can help to fortify your wishes through your will.

When people consider the end of their life, they often think about things like how their personal property will be managed or how they might like their remains to be handled. Many do not realize that those are only part of the picture. Other aspects that Florida families may want to consider involve health-related decisions, such as whether they approve of using life support or who will make decisions for them if they are incapacitated. Experts say that an advance directive is the best way to address these concerns.

An advance directive has multiple parts. It can designate a specific person as a health care power of attorney who can make health-related decisions on behalf of the person specified. The agent can also legally sign documentation for the person he or she represents. The directive can also contain a living will, which can direct medical professionals not to keep a person alive if he or she will remain unconscious and never recover. The living will also can specify certain treatments that the person approves.

Those who create an estate plan here in Florida do so generally in good faith. There is an assumption that beneficiaries will use any inheritance to care for themselves and anyone or anything else designated by the person who created the plan. Unfortunately, some potential beneficiaries may have difficulty handling such a responsibility, especially if the beneficiary suffers from an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. Yet, leaving such a person out of a will may not be an option either -- it could result in the addicted person spiraling further into turmoil. Experts do have some recommendations for those considering estate planning who find themselves in such a situation.

Many families willingly spend all of their savings hoping that they can help a family member overcome an addiction. Some individuals may worry that an inheritance will be spent solely on the addictive substance that their family member struggles with. Financial experts say that an estate plan that contains an incentive trust is one way to avoid this. A trust can dictate exactly how certain assets are distributed, and an incentive trust can be tied to specific behaviors or conditions. For example, money can only be received by a beneficiary after he or she has completed a drug treatment program.

Not many people enjoy thinking about the end of their life. Besides being an unpleasant thing to consider, it can bring up difficult decisions that may need to be made. Many people would prefer not to think about it at all, but that could be a mistake. Families here in Florida and around the nation can use the new year as a reason to update or create a new estate plan, to ensure that their assets are handled the way they want and that their final wishes are honored.

Some may mistakenly think that if they are young or don't have a lot of assets that they do not need an estate plan. If they wish to pass anything they own onto a spouse or another loved one, a comprehensive estate plan is essential. Taking note of exactly what is owned, such as a house, car, or stocks is a great first step. There are several options afterwards that can be utilized in order to complete an estate plan.