Category Archives: Estate Planning
How Does Trust Litigation Happen?
If you have established a trust, you have already substantially reduced the chances that disputes will arise over your property after you die and that, if disputes arise, they will cause the intended beneficiaries to lose money. Since they are non-probate assets, trusts can operate outside of court, unlike the process of administering a… Read More »
Five Wishes for End-of-Life Care
In civil lawsuits, courts can only award money; they cannot truly heal people’s physical and emotional pain. When probate cases go wrong, family members can become estranged. They might voice their grievances in financial terms, but often the problem is not really about money. How much money you have is largely beyond your control,… Read More »
Avoiding Hassle During Probate Requires More Than Just Designating Beneficiaries for Non-Probate Assets
Estate planning lawyers often talk up non-probate assets, such as accounts with transfer on death (TOD) and payable on death (POD) beneficiaries, as a “set it and forget it” way to simplify your estate plan. Of course, if you have started on your estate plan, you know that nothing involving the transfer of property… Read More »
Securing a Deceased Person’s Assets Before Probate
Probate is stressful not because it differs much from the financial and administrative tasks you do on behalf of yourself and your spouse, but because you must manage a recently deceased person’s financial affairs in addition to your own. In other words, the problem is that there simply are not enough hours in a… Read More »
Strategic Divorce? What a Horrible Thought!
If you are at a social gathering of retirees and you are tired of listening to them complain about their aches and pains or about the economy, ask your companions what they think about marriage trends among the young generation, and the conversation is certain to turn lively. People will tell you, from their… Read More »
Revising Your Estate Plan After a Natural Disaster
Only the most conscientious people start working on their estate plans just because they realize that they are far enough into adulthood that their lack of estate planning will cause emotional and financial stress for the people they love. Everyone else procrastinates estate planning until something happens. That something could be a health scare,… Read More »
Naming Two Personal Representatives for Your Estate Is a Bad Idea
Your will tells the probate court who will inherit your property after you die, including which heirs will inherit specific assets or which ones will inherit which fraction of your money. Of course, the way wills work is that, by the time the court is ready to follow the instructions, you are no longer… Read More »
Dade City Is at the Nexus of Florida’s Two Most Beautiful Coasts
The decision to retire to Florida is easy, but deciding where in Florida to retire is not so simple. Miami is often the first place people think of when they think of retiring in Florida. Miami is now beyond the budget of many and not the lifestyle you may envision.. Given that the Miami… Read More »
When Planning for Retirement, Think About How to Avoid Loneliness, Not About How to Have Fun
Loneliness is the enemy of good health. How much time a person chooses to spend alone varies from one person to another, but not having enough social interactions with other people can send your physical and mental health into a downward spiral. People in addiction recovery support groups often talk about avoiding boredom, the… Read More »
Can Retirees Get a Mortgage?
If you have lived anywhere in the United States, especially Florida, for the past three years, you would not be unreasonable to think that consumer debt is an inalienable feature of the human condition. From the time you enter the workforce or reach the age of majority, whichever happens first, until you die, you… Read More »
