Recent Blog Posts
Are Florida’s Estate-Related Tax Policies Too Good to Be True?
The sunny weather is not the only reason that so many retirees choose Florida as their permanent home. Yes, the weather is warm year-round in Florida, but that is also true in every other state below a certain latitude. There is a reason that they call it the Sun Belt. Even though the gators… Read More »
Can Trusts Be a Target of Financial Crime?
Sometimes estate planning lawyers assure you, with an utterly serious expression, that by putting your money in a trust, you will be keeping your assets safe and, by extension, keeping their beneficiaries safe. A trust can protect your assets from creditor claims during probate, even if you spend the last years of your life… Read More »
Can the Beneficiaries of a Will Refuse Their Inheritance?
Almost anything can happen during probate. Strangers can show up, claiming to be your long-lost relatives and demanding a share of the decedent’s estate. You might find out that the testator of the will was richer or poorer than you had always thought. You might even find that the decedent wrote a new version… Read More »
Is Whole Life Insurance Right for You?
You are unlikely to meet someone who has ever experienced a positive emotion in regards to insurance. People who have health insurance are still annoyed when you remind them that they would be even worse off without it; they are mad because they have to pay so much out of pocket and because their… Read More »
The Thankless Job of the Personal Representative of a Deceased Person’s Estate
Congratulations on being your parents’ favorite child. You got to stay nearby and take care of them in their old age while your siblings only showed up on major holidays, spending an average of 350 days per year blissfully unaware of all the elder care you were doing. You wrangled them as they became… Read More »
Let Your Estate Plan Guide Your Real Estate Purchasing Decisions and the Other Way Around
Even if you are not the kind of person who watches HGTV for fun, if even at your age, you still don’t understand why your mother subscribed to Better Homes and Gardens magazine when you were younger, the appeal of buying real estate in Florida is undeniable. Real estate agents are an inherently charming,… Read More »
A Professor’s Final Act of Love
In Plato’s Symposium, seven guests at a party in Athens each give a speech in which they define love. The guests come from different professional backgrounds, and this is reflected in their speeches. For example, the retired military officer says that love is the willingness to fight to the death on the battlefield to… Read More »
Florida Doesn’t Let in Terrorem Clauses Intimidate Heirs
Even if you spent your entire life making financial decisions based on what other people want, your will is your chance to distribute your money the way that you choose. You can disinherit as many relatives as you wish, and it is up to you whether you tell them, during your lifetime, that they… Read More »
Buying a House After Retirement
Your dream has always been to move to Florida when you retire. You first set the intention to retire to Florida when you visited the Sunshine State during a Spring Break trip in college, and you have never deviated from it. Time flies, and you are ready to retire, but your financial plans have… Read More »
You Are Less Prepared for Long-Term Care Than You Think You Are
It was a lifetime ago, but your fellow graduating seniors chose well when they voted you most conscientious in your high school graduating class. Nearly fifty years hence, you have written your will and reread it every year on New Year’s Day. You updated it when major changes occurred, like when your grandchildren were… Read More »
