Blog
Trust Funding: Real Estate and Financial Accounts
After you have created a revocable trust, it is necessary to fund your trust with your assets. Funding a trust is the transfer of assets to the trust name. When you transfer assets to your trust, or when the trustee buys and sells various assets owned by the trust,...
Trust Funding: General
When creating a revocable trust, it is important to understand how to transfer assets to your trust. We call this process “trust funding”. To obtain the benefits of probate avoidance and the other benefits of having a trust, it is very important that the trust be...
Family Guardian vs. Professional Guardian
As the names indicate, a family guardian is usually a member of the family or a close friend of the person with incapacity. A professional guardian is a fiduciary who cares for 3 or more wards and is subjected to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fingerprint...
3 Reasons the VA May Terminate Benefits
Veterans who have served our country deserve to be rewarded for their service and cared for in the years after. This is why benefits awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are so crucial to so many. The VA may award benefits directly to veterans or to...
The Five Most Important Estate Planning Documents
Your existing documents might not give your agent any legal authority to take necessary action for you. This is especially true when individuals or families have downloaded forms from a website, obtained forms in an office supply store, received forms from a hospice...
Important Things to Know When Completing a Power of Attorney
The Florida Bar defines a power of attorney as a legal document delegating authority from one person to another. In the document, the maker of the power of attorney (the “principal”) grants the right to act on the maker's behalf as that person's agent. When granting...
Who Will Make Decisions About Your Health Care If You Cannot?
A Designation of Health Care Surrogate also called a Health Care Power of Attorney, a Health Care Proxy or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, gives legal authority to another person (a surrogate or agent) to make decisions about your health care if you are...
What is the Difference Between a Simple Will and a Pour-Over Will?
How do you know which will option is best for your needs? While most people likely assume a simple will or last will and testament will cover their wishes, it's important to ensure that the correct selection is secured before an emergency develops. Learn the...
Helping to Navigate the Complexities of Life as we Age
Many older adults find it difficult to remain independent. Simple abilities like driving, taking medications, or running errands become much more difficult tasks to the person who is losing their vision, hearing, or even just using an assistive device such as a...
Unmarried Florida Couples Need Estate Plans
Estate planning is important for everyone but especially so in the absence of children, who are natural heirs when a parent passes. For singles or couples without children, the absence of a plan can lead to unintended consequences and protracted litigation. A famous...