Blog
What Do I Need to Know About a Medical Power of Attorney?
A person designated as Medical Power of Attorney may go by several titles including Designation of Health Care Surrogate, Health Care Power of Attorney, Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, or Health Care Proxy. No matter the name, this influential legal...
What happens if you pass away without a will?
Probate Tip of the Day: What Happens if You Pass Away Without a Will? Hi, everybody. For today's Probate Tip of the Day, we'll be talking about what happens if you pass away without a will. In Florida, if you pass away without a will and you're the traditional family,...
Things to Consider if You Need an Elder Law Attorney
As our loved ones age, we face new and complex issues, such as estate planning, retirement planning, possible disabilities, nursing home care, and financial planning. Without the right advice and proper planning, an illness can quickly turn into complicated and...
Does My Loved One Need a Case Manager or Guardian?
Establishing elder care planning can be confusing for families. Finding the right information about the options for care management will help your loved one remain as independent as possible. With the guidance of the team at The Law Office of Amy B. Van Fossen, P.A.,...
Estate Planning Tip of the Day: Can I Do My Own Documents?
Video Transcript: Tip of the day today: Can I do my own estate planning documents? Do I need an attorney to prepare them or can I just do them myself? We always recommend having an attorney prepare your estate planning documents. There are certain legalities and...
Preparing for an Estate Planning Consultation
Estate planning is a specialized field requiring the knowledge and skill of a professional. As such, one of the most important steps you can take in the estate planning process is choosing the right estate planning attorney. When choosing an attorney, it is imperative...
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...