Florida Legal Blog

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.

For those Florida residents who have jumped out ahead of the curve and have an estate plan in place, all of the work is not permanently wrapped up. Estate planning is an organic process, and it will be necessary to review the plan with the attorney approximately every three years.  When a tax law changes, its impact must be compared to the existing terms of one's plan so that updates can be made if necessary. In addition, there are several other reasons to review periodically the continuing accuracy and efficacy of one's plan.

An estate plan can be impacted by the occurrence of certain life events. This may include but is not limited to marriage, divorce, death of beneficiaries and the unavailability of persons nominated to serve as executors and trustees. Even moving to another state may call up the need for review of the estate plan due to the nuances of legal mandates from state to state.

Watching your parents grow older is difficult even under the best possible circumstances, but if your parent is also experiencing a decline in his or her overall physical or mental health, it can prove even more emotionally taxing. At some point, you may find that your loved one is no longer able to appropriately manage his or her affairs, and you may need to devote some consideration to giving the power to do so to someone else.

Often, older adults who are no longer able to care for themselves because of physical hardship, mental illness or what have you allow someone else, or have the courts appoint someone else, to take control over certain matters. A conservatorship is one such common arrangement and a guardianship is another, but there are some important differences that exist between the two.

In Florida, it is generally easy and convenient to leave funds or other assets to charitable organizations. Many people believe that they cannot afford to give to their favorite charity without upsetting the other bequests to their family and friends. That is generally a false presumption because there are various tax benefits for charitable gifts that may possibly make up for any loss in one's corpus. The best way to see what can be afforded and how to set it up is to meet with one's estate planning attorney and, if needed, a qualified financial planning expert.

It is popular for people to donate funds to charity at the time of their death. Although it may appear to be complicated, the steps are actually fairly easy, after the determinations are made regarding gifting, tax considerations and the achievement of one's estate planning goals. The gift at the time of death will be set forth in one's will, where it can be easily measured against the gifts to a person's heirs.