Seeking the advice of a trained Broward Estate Planning Lawyer could be the difference in the security of your family’s financial future.

Married Couples

Most people choose to have their assets go directly to their spouse, but they don’t set up the proper estate plan to see that this occurs.  These people have the right destination but are travelling in the wrong vehicle.  With the danger of estate taxes and creditors lurking, failing to address your vision of what you wish to leave your family with a trained Broward estate planning lawyer could be the difference between financial security and financial despair for your children and beyond.

Children and Pets

More than what happens to your money, you also need to consider who will care for your loved ones after you and your spouse are both gone.  Your children are your most precious assets and arrangements should be made as to who will care for them and what type of money will be left for them as they grow older.

Most people would not believe that a family pet needs to be subjected to the Florida Probate process, but Florida Law defines animals as personal property and as such are subject to probate just like other personal property. Fortunately our Broward estate planning lawyers can create a Florida Revocable Trust that will deal with your animals and protect them from probate. If you want to provide for more than just a transfer of the ownership of the animals, you could also add pet trust provisions to allow for the care of the animal in the event they survive you.

Unmarried Domestic Partnerships

Unmarried domestic partners in Broward County have unique concerns regarding their estate planning. For example, they do not have the unlimited marital deduction for estate taxes because they are not married.  The laws typically take into account traditional relationships (blood and marriage) when allocating assets and custody in the absence of a will, which still often do not reflect the desires of the deceased.

Unmarried domestic partners, whether straight or gay, including elderly couples who remain unmarried for social security or medical benefits, are not even considered by the law when disposing of an estate or appointing a guardian for a person who dies without first preparing a will.  If you are unmarried and in a domestic relationship, you need to seek the advice of an experienced Broward estate planning lawyer to assist you in establishing a comprehensive estate plan that takes care of the people you care about long after you are gone.

For more information on protecting the future of your loved ones, contact our Broward Estate Planning Lawyers at info@wfplaw.com or at 954-944-2855.

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In 2011, the estate tax will return with a vengeance. The level at which all estates will be taxed at will be a measly 1 million dollars. 1000000 dollars sounds like a lot of money but it’s really minor when you consider that it includes life insurance proceed, the your home, your stocks, bank accounts, retirement savings account,  jewelry, art, and anything else that you may have had titled in your name when you passed away.

After all of your assets are probated and assigned a dollar amount, your family will be taxed at the rate of 55 percent for everything over the first million. That means that they will be forced to pay 55 cents tax for every dollar you left to them.

This tax has bankrupted families.

When Joe Robbie died, he left the Miami Dolphins and their stadium (formerly known as Joe Robbie Stadium) to his children. He did not have a trust in place at the time he died. Since he owned all of his assets in his own name at death, the team and the stadium were probated and nine months after his death, his children were handed a tax bill for $50,000,000.

Almost all of Joe Robbie’s net worth was in the team and the stadium so the kids couldn’t raise the cash. and the Robbie kids were forced to sell the team and the stadium for fifty cents on the dollar just in order to pay the tax bill.

A lack of estate planning is the reason that the Dolphins now play in Sun Life Stadium.

A similar situation took the Chicago Cubs away from the Wrigley family. When the estate tax bill came due, the Wrigley kids were given the option of selling the chewing gum factory or the baseball team.

Since chewing gum is more profitable, they sold the team to pay the estate tax.

The estate tax doesn’t just affect millionaires; it also has taken many a farm from the unsuspecting and unprepared farmer. Many farms are worth seven or eight million dollars but the people that run them live month-to-month and do not consider themselves to be millionaires. Often, a lack of life insurance and estate planning leads to a farmer leaving the farm to his family, along with an estate tax bill of around $4 million. And since the kids can’t pay the bill, they are forced to sell the family farm.

A lack of estate planning could lead to the financial destruction of your family. Don’t let the estate tax take away all of your hard work. You can protect your family with some very basic estate planning techniques.

To learn more about protection your family from the looming death tax, and to schedule your free estate planning consultation, please contact the estate planning attorneys of  Wild Felice & Pardo, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com.  Let us protect what you value most.

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Ideally, an estate plan should allow you to control your property while you are alive and healthy but allow you to plan for your loved ones in the case that you become disabled or die.  Should you die, your estate plan should carry out your wishes and give what you want, to whom you want, when you want, and in the manner of your choosing.  You can control your assets long after you are gone.

Some people will tell you that probate is not as bad as it sounds.  Those people are probably probate attorneys.  The fact is, if you have over $75,000 of total assets, you should avoid probate at all costs.  Probate is the Court-supervised process of gathering up the assets of a deceased person (called the “decedent”), paying the decedent’s final bills, and then distributing the decedent’s remaining assets in accordance with the decedent’s will, if any, otherwise in accordance with Florida Law.

Probate is necessary when the decedent has left assets titled in his or her sole name.  These assets may include houses, cars, bank accounts, and even life insurance policies or retirement funds.  Many people believe that having a will avoids probate.  Probate will be required whether or not the decedent has left a will since the laws of the State of Florida provide a “will” for those who chose not to make one through the intestacy statutes.

The intestacy statutes provide that a person who dies without a will shall have their assets distributed as the state of Florida has previously determined.  For a person who dies with only a spouse, all of the person’s assets will be distributed to the spouse after they have been probated.  For a person who dies leaving behind a Spouse and children, the first $60,000 goes to the spouse and the rest of the assets are split equally between the spouse and the children.  Most people would not want to give half of their assets to their minor children without some sort of protection, but that is how the intestacy statutes are written.  Having a will avoids intestacy but it does not avoid the perils of the probate process.  Only a trust-based estate plan will avoid probate.

Probate has a number of drawbacks.  First and foremost, it is quite costly.  The probate of an estate will usually cost between 4 and 7 percent of the value of the entire estate.  The lawyers,  Court, and creditors will all be paid before your family or beneficiaries see even one cent.  Another drawback to probate is that it is very time consuming.  The probate of a simple estate can take between 6 and 18 months.  Some estates take over 3 years to complete the probate.  During this time, your family has no access to the assets in your estate and no ability to sell or manage assets even as they depreciate in value.  A third drawback is the embarrassment of your dirty laundry being made public knowledge.

While trusts are completely private and sheltered from everyone’s view except for the trustee that you appoint, probate is public record and your will shall be filed with the clerk of courts where anyone with a computer can download it and read it.  Even more embarrassing, any fighting over the execution of your will is also public record.  That’s the reason that the world is currently aware that the head of Hall of Fame baseball player Ted Williams is currently on ice.  He did not have a trust.

Another very important drawback of the probate process is that your beneficiaries are not afforded any protection once they inherit your assets.  With a trust-based estate plan, you will be able to protect your beneficiaries from anyone attempting to take the assets from them through manipulation, litigation, or divorce.  Without a trust, your assets could be taken from your family and enjoyed by a person that you have never even met.  Probate is a very real concern and should be avoided at all costs.  Luckily, it is easily avoided by simply calling your estate planning attorney and implementing a trust-based estate plan.

For more information on how to protect your assets during life and long after you are gone, please contact the asset protection and estate planning experts at the law firm of Wild Felice & Pardo, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com.  Let us protect what you value most.

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