Florida Will Basics

Florida Will Basics

Estate planning – leaving directions for what should happen to your belongings when you die – is something everyone should do, no matter how many or how few assets you have. Florida law provides for many ways to plan your estate, and one of the most well-known and most-used methods is the creation of a will.

The state of Florida defines a will as “an instrument, including a codicil, executed by a person . . . which disposes of the person’s property on or after his or her death and includes an instrument which merely appoints a personal representative or revokes or revises another will.” Fla. Stat. § 731.201(40).

Who Can Make A Florida Will?

In Florida, any florida citizen who is of sound mind and is at least 18 years old (or is an emancipated minor) can make a will. There are a few exceptions to the age requirement: married minors can make wills, and if a minor is in the military he or she can execute a military testamentary instrument.

What Must Be In a Florida Will?

Florida law requires wills to be in writing. Handwritten (also known as holographic) wills that do not follow the formal requirements for wills in Florida are not valid. Also, oral (also known as nuncupative) wills are not valid in Florida.

 

To be valid, the will must be signed by the testator (the person making the will) in the presence of at least two “attesting” witnesses. Each of those witnesses must sign the will in the presence of the testator and each other. These rules about signing and witnessing are upheld strictly by Florida courts – you’ll want to make sure you follow the law to the letter when executing your will.

 

When the testator dies, the will must be admitted to probate. At that point, the court needs to see proof that the will in front of it is valid. There are a few ways this can be accomplished. The easiest way is to “self-prove” the will when it is being executed. A Florida estate planning attorney can help testators get this right so that the court has no question about the will. Another way is to have the attesting witnesses come before the court and give testimony about witnessing the execution of the will. This can pose problems, though, if a witness dies before the testator or suffers from an infirmity that leaves their mental capacity in question. Finally, if the will is not self-proven and/or the attesting witnesses are not available, the personal representative named in the will may swear under oath that he or she believes the will in front of the court to be the true will reflecting the decedent’s wishes.

 

Although those are the main requirements to make a valid Florida will, there are many other things that can – and should – go into a will. For instance, the will should clearly identify itself as a will. It should explicitly revoke prior wills. And it’s also advisable to identify the domicile and the marital status of the testator. The best course of action is to consult with a Florida estate planning attorney to ensure you’ve included everything you should.

Can Florida Wills Be Challenged?

If someone wishes to challenge either the contents of or the validity of a will, the burden of proof is on the estate to establish that the will was formally executed in accordance with Florida law. After that, it’s up to the challenger to present evidence that something about the will is invalid or void. A will is typically found to be void if it was procured by fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence.

 

Some Practical Considerations

Life is unpredictable, and sometimes people forget to update wills. Florida law provides guidance in some of these instances. For example, if someone executed a will before being married, but dies married, the law allows for the forgotten spouse to receive a share of the estate under what’s called the “Pretermitted Spouse Rule.” Same goes for forgotten children – Florida law provides that children born to the testator after the will was written may be entitled to a share of the estate as well. Divorces also may affect provisions of Florida wills, so it’s best to consult with your attorney about how to handle this sort of significant life change.

 

There are also practical considerations about where to keep a will. A will is no good if it can’t be found! The best thing to do is keep it in an accessible, easily-found location, and tell your attorney and personal representative where it is.

 

This is just a broad discussion of what goes into the drafting and execution of a Florida will. There are many details that we’ll discuss in future posts. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to contact the estate planning attorneys at Lynchard & Seely to schedule a free consultation to discuss your estate planning options.

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Will Contest – What Does It Mean to Contest a Will in Florida?

Will Contest – What Does It Mean to Contest a Will in Florida?

Whether you are a potential heir contesting a Will, or the executor defending the Will, you should know that the process of contesting a Will in Florida can be messy. In a nutshell, to contest a Will means that you want the court to throw out an existing Will and consider it void.

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Florida Homestead Exemption: What You Need To Know – Part II

Florida Homestead Exemption: What You Need To Know – Part II

Welcome Back! In case you missed the first part on the Florida Homestead Exemption, you can find my post on the homestead creditor protection here.

 

As stated last time, everyone in Florida at some point will address the Florida Homestead Exemption at some point. It can have a dramatic effect in the outcome of a lot of legal issues in Florida. Knowing more about it is extremely important for all Floridians, or people who own real property in Florida.

 

The purpose of this blog post is to continue to introduce to you the Florida homestead exemption. By the end of this blog post you should at least have a good understanding how the Florida homestead exemption can affect you and your family regarding conveyance, encumbrance, inheritance, or device of a homestead.

 

As a reminder, there are three basic categories or areas of the law where Homestead plays a significant role. Those three areas are:

 

Creditor protection;

Conveyance, Encumbrance, Inheritance or Devise; and,

Taxation

 

I trying to provide you a comprehensive understanding of how I’ll be Florida Homestead act and the Florida homestead definition plays out in the state of Florida. This article shall address the how the Florida Homestead affects the conveyance, encumbrance, inheritance, or device of a homestead.

 

For this analysis, we need to look at the Florida Constitution. The foundation of the Florida homestead exemption starts with the Florida Constitution (Here). Take a look at following provisions:

Article X, § 4, of the Florida Constitution provides as follows:

(a) There shall be exempt from forced sale under process of any court, and no judgment, decree or execution shall be a lien thereon, except for the payment of taxes and assessments thereon, obligations contracted for the purchase, improvement or repair thereof, or obligations contracted for house, field or other labor performed on the realty, the following property owned by a natural person:

(1) a homestead, if located outside a municipality, to the extent of one hundred sixty acres of contiguous land and improvements thereon, which shall not be reduced without the owner’s consent by reason of subsequent inclusion in a municipality; or if located within a municipality, to the extent of one-half acre of contiguous land, upon which the exemption shall be limited to the residence of the owner or the owner’s family;

(2) personal property to the value of one thousand dollars.

(b) These exemptions shall inure to the surviving spouse or heirs of the owner.

(c) The homestead shall not be subject to devise if the owner is survived by spouse or minor child, except the homestead may be devised to the owner’s spouse if there be no minor child. The owner of homestead real estate, joined by the spouse if married, may alienate the homestead by mortgage, sale or gift and, if married, may by deed transfer the title to an estate by the entirety with the spouse. If the owner or spouse is incompetent, the method of alienation or encumbrance shall be as provided by law.

I have highlighted the important provision so that you can begin to see the basis of how the Florida Constitution controls the conveyance, encumbrance, or devise of your homestead.

 

There are two main categories of control in this provision. The first category of control deals with who you can give your homestead to at the time of death. The second category of control deals with how you handle your homestead property during Your life.

 

Can’t Always Give Your Homestead to Who You Want

 

Minor Children Must Have a Home. The very first control the Florida Constitutional Homestead provision places on your homestead is that it dictates that if you have minor child, you cannot give your property to anyone else.  The fundamental principle underlying this provision is that you are and have to be a responsible parent. Therefore, if you have minor children, you cannot leave those children without a roof over their heads.

 

For many of my clients, I see this as an issue as I have seen this play out in the number of different ways. For example, often, I encourage my clients to put in their last wills and testaments a contingent trust. The purpose behind the contingent trust is to avoid the necessity of the guardianship for a minor and provide for the disposition of the property when there’re minors involved. For example, my contingent trusts include a provision that the assets are to remain in trust until the minor reaches the age of 25 (I personally find this age to be more appropriate because an 18 or 21 year old may not be able to best manage a large amount of money).

 

Nevertheless, this constitutional provision prevents me from setting up this mechanism. Unfortunately, if the client of mine has a homestead and minor children, anything I put in a last will and testament regarding the homestead is not valid. The constitutional homestead provision controls.

 

Spouses Have Rights. Simply put, spouses have rights in Florida, including the Florida spousal elective share. While a number of factors come into play in regard to spousal interest in the home, you cannot leave your spouse without a roof over his or her head. I will discuss the different spousal interests for the spousal election in another blog post. For now, when you are doing estate planning you must factor this constitutional provision into the effect it’s going to have on your estate planning.

 

During Your Life, Spouse Must Consent

 

As you can see, the second main control deals with your ability to sell or mortgage, or otherwise dispose of, your homestead during your life. This control comes up in number of different instances. For example, at some point you may want to sell your house, you may want to borrow against it (initial mortgage or refinance), you may want to simply give it away for tax purposes, charitable purposes, or for some other reason. Essentially, you cannot do those things without the consent or agreement of your spouse.

 

This issue comes up for my purposes mainly when I am preparing deeds or handling real estate transactions for clients. When parties execute a purchase and sale agreement, the contract is sent to our office to ”close.” We begin preparing the necessary paperwork and discover that the seller of the property is married. In order to finalize the sale, all of the paperwork will have to be signed by the spouse. I can tell you that it’s made for some very awkward conversations.

 

Keep in mind that if the seller’s spouse does not consent, then the seller, who is under contract, is now in breach of that contract. At that point, the seller can be sued for not fulfilling the agreement. While I’m not to get into the mechanics of defaulting  on a purchase agreement here in this post, it’s important that you understand that if you are trying to sell your property during your life, and you are married, you better check with your spouse first. Happy Wife, Happy Life!

 

Conclusion

 

While there are many pros and cons to the Florida Constitutional Homestead Exemption Provision, it is a reality nevertheless. As such, it is important that every Floridian consider the devise, encumbrance, mortgage, and conveyance provisions that it dictates. It is most certainly one aspect that every Florida asset protection and estate planning attorney should be addressing for their clients. If you have questions would like assistance in this regard, please do not hesitate contact my office.

 

I hope this blog post has begun to introduce you to Florida Homestead Provisions. I also hope that it’s giving you a little bit of direction and perhaps the basic information you need to protect yourself and family.

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Will Contest – What Does It Mean to Contest a Will in Florida?

Will Contest – What Does It Mean to Contest a Will in Florida?

Whether you are a potential heir contesting a Will, or the executor defending the Will, you should know that the process of contesting a Will in Florida can be messy. In a nutshell, to contest a Will means that you want the court to throw out an existing Will and consider it void.

read more

Want Help With Your Estate Plan?

Click Below to Schedule a FREE Initial Consultation!

Florida Homestead Exemption: What You Need To Know – Part I

Florida Homestead Exemption: What You Need To Know – Part I

Everyone in Florida at some point will address the Florida Homestead Exemption at some point. It can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of a lot of legal issues in Florida. Knowing more is extremely important for all Floridians, or people who own real property in Florida.

The purpose of this blog post is to introduce to you the Florida homestead exemption. By the end of this blog post you should at least have a good understanding how the Florida homestead exemption can affect you and your family.

There are three basic categories or areas of the law where Homestead plays a significant role. Those three areas are:

Creditor protection

Conveyance, Encumbrance, Inheritance or Devise

Taxation

I plan to cover each one of these categories so that you have a comprehensive understanding of how the Florida Homestead laws and the Florida homestead definition play out in the state of Florida. This post shall address the creditor protection aspect.

Before we delve too deeply, we need to look at where all this starts. The foundation of the Florida homestead exemption starts with the Florida Constitution (Here). Take a look at following provisions:

Article X, § 4, of the Florida Constitution 

(a) There shall be exempt from forced sale under process of any court, and no judgment, decree or execution shall be a lien thereon, except for the payment of taxes and assessments thereon, obligations contracted for the purchase, improvement or repair thereof, or obligations contracted for house, field or other labor performed on the realty, the following property owned by a natural person:

(1) a homestead, if located outside a municipality, to the extent of one hundred sixty acres of contiguous land and improvements thereon, which shall not be reduced without the owner’s consent by reason of subsequent inclusion in a municipality; or if located within a municipality, to the extent of one-half acre of contiguous land, upon which the exemption shall be limited to the residence of the owner or the owner’s family;

(2) personal property to the value of one thousand dollars.

(b) These exemptions shall inure to the surviving spouse or heirs of the owner.

(c) The homestead shall not be subject to devise if the owner is survived by spouse or minor child, except the homestead may be devised to the owner’s spouse if there be no minor child. The owner of homestead real estate, joined by the spouse if married, may alienate the homestead by mortgage, sale or gift and, if married, may by deed transfer the title to an estate by the entirety with the spouse. If the owner or spouse is incompetent, the method of alienation or encumbrance shall be as provided by law.

I have emphasized some of the important provision so that you can see the basis for what everyone knows is a the “Florida Homestead Law.” As you can see, this constitutional provision is only five paragraphs long. It is short and it is sweet. While you might not realize it at first, there is a lot of rights for Florida citizens packed into this provision. Some of them are good, others are confusing, but, nevertheless, I’m going to try make sense of this for you.

Some of you savvy individuals may have noticed that the provision above doesn’t say anything about a tax exemption. And, you would be right. The provision above centers around creditor protection and conveyance. It does not address the Taxation reduction.

Here is the Florida Constitutional provision for the fundamental basis for the homestead taxation exemption:

 SECTION 6. Homestead exemptions.—

(a) Every person who has the legal or equitable title to real estate and maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, or another legally or naturally dependent upon the owner, shall be exempt from taxation thereon, except assessments for special benefits, up to the assessed valuation of twenty-five thousand dollars and, for all levies other than school district levies, on the assessed valuation greater than fifty thousand dollars and up to seventy-five thousand dollars, upon establishment of right thereto in the manner prescribed by law. The real estate may be held by legal or equitable title, by the entireties, jointly, in common, as a condominium, or indirectly by stock ownership or membership representing the owner’s or member’s proprietary interest in a corporation owning a fee or a leasehold initially in excess of ninety-eight years. The exemption shall not apply with respect to any assessment roll until such roll is first determined to be in compliance with the provisions of section 4 by a state agency designated by general law. This exemption is repealed on the effective date of any amendment to this Article which provides for the assessment of homestead property at less than just value.

Now that you can see where the Florida homestead exemption is derived, let’s get into different concepts that are important to you. For the purpose of this article, I will be addressing the creditor protection aspects of the above constitutional provision.

In case you missed it earlier, here is the constitutional provision again, in pertinent part:

Article X, § 4, of the Florida Constitution provides as follows:

(a) There shall be exempt from forced sale under process of any court, and no judgment, decree or execution shall be a lien thereon, except for the payment of taxes and assessments thereon, obligations contracted for the purchase, improvement or repair thereof, or obligations contracted for house, field or other labor performed on the realty, the following property owned by a natural person:

(1) a homestead, if located outside a municipality, to the extent of one hundred sixty acres of contiguous land and improvements thereon, which shall not be reduced without the owner’s consent by reason of subsequent inclusion in a municipality; or if located within a municipality, to the extent of one-half acre of contiguous land, upon which the exemption shall be limited to the residence of the owner or the owner’s family; 

(b) These exemptions shall inure to the surviving spouse or heirs of the owner.

 Alright, this needs to be flushed out to be better understood.

 

 It is Important To Understand How Creditors Come After Your Home

 One of the first concepts that you need to have in mind is “how creditors come after you for money.” Generally speaking, there are two types of creditors. Creditors are either secured or unsecured. A secured creditor has a security interest in an intangible or tangible item, e.g. real estate – mortgage, vehicles – lien on the title. These secured creditors have additional rights. For example, if you have a mortgage on your home, your mortgagee likely has the right to foreclose upon (force the sale) your home. If they force the sale, their lien has first dibs on the sale proceeds. For the most part, I will not be referring to secured creditors. I will briefly mention your mortgage company down below.

 

For unsecured creditors, the main concept that you need to grasp or consider is “how do unsecured creditors get money from you.” Fundamentally, unsecured creditors cannot automatically go into your bank account, and they can’t repose your lawm mower. They cannot automatically take your stuff.

 

In order for the unsecured creditor to take anything from you, they must go to court. The first step that unsecured creditor has to do is sue you. They have to initiate a lawsuit against you and, ultimately, acquire a final judgment or order from the court stating you owe that creditor money. Once a creditor has a judgment, only then can an unsecured creditor begin to take things from you.

 

At this point, the Florida homestead exemption comes into play, as well as all other exemptions set forth in Florida Statute Chapter 222 (Here),. There are a number of legal mechanisms that are creditor has access to after they acquire a judgment. Once a judgment is entered and recorded in the official records of the county in which you owned property, that recorded judgment acts as a lien against all of your real estate in that county.

 

Your creditor or judgment holder then has the ability to initiate an action to foreclose that lien. To boil it down for the purposes of this article, ultimately the judgment holder could force the sale/auction of your real estate through this foreclosure action. Fortunately, the constitutional provisions set forth above prevents this for homestead property.

 

Creditor protection

 Let’s take a closer look. As you can see, the very first provision provides that: there shall be exempt from forced sale or execution or judgment on the following property: (1) Homestead. This provision shuts your creditor and your judgment holder down, full stop, against your home. Because of this provision, many creditors will not even attempt to foreclose upon your home if it appears as though the exemption applies. Simply put, it would be a waste of that creditors time and money to even attempt to do so.

 

Of course, if a creditor attempts to foreclose upon your home, you will still have to defend the action because it doesn’t magically go away. In fact, if you do nothing and stick your head in sand, then your home could be foreclosed upon. Therefore, if you are served court documents, you need to pay attention and respond, or, at a minimum, consult with a Florida real estate attorney. If you have a homestead, you need to stand up and say so!

 

Your ability to defend against the action will be successful so long as you are able to show that your real estate qualifies for the homestead exemption and the creditor is not one of the exceptions (discussed below).  This provision stops the foreclosure judgment, i.e. an order to sale your real property at auction. This provision stops the forced sale of your house. This provision allows you keep your home.

 

Are There Limitations to the Homestead Exemption?

Yes, and that is a BIG yes.

 

More Money, No Problem. Now, there are limitations to the homestead creditor protection provision. However, value is fortunately not one of those limitations. One of the most beneficial aspects of this provision is that it applies regardless of the value of the property. For example, this creditor protection applies if you home is worth $50,000 or $500,000,000.

 

So, investing in your home is truly an advisable investment. The more you sink into your home the better. My understanding is that there are value limitations applied in bankruptcy, but that is a topic for another time.

 

Size Matters. Now, there are “size” limitations based upon the language set out in the constitutional provision. Specifically, it provides that:

a homestead, if located outside a municipality, to the extent of one hundred sixty acres of contiguous land and improvements thereon, which shall not be reduced without the owner’s consent by reason of subsequent inclusion in a municipality; or if located within a municipality, to the extent of one-half acre of contiguous land, upon which the exemption shall be limited to the residence of the owner or the owner’s family;

So, as you can see, the exemption is limited to homes and land that are smaller than 160 acres of contiguous land outside the municipality and ½ acre inside a municipality. While there is a size limitation, you should know that this exemption can also apply to mobile homes, boats, property used for both residential and commercial purposes, and long-term leases. Homestead analysis can be complex, so be sure to consult with an attorney before you make decision that you could later regret.

 

Natural Person. Are there other limitations other than size? Turns out there are. When reading the constitution, statutes, or case law, you have to read every word. One word can change the meaning of everything. While many people often look over a piece of this provision, it is extremely important. A major limitation on this exemption is the fact that the “homestead” must be “owned by a natural person.” Simply put, limited liability companies and corporations are out. Therefore, if you title your home in the name of your LLC, you may be losing out on some significant protections.

 

Additionally, there are residency and intent requirements. This is a complex issue that requires case law analysis on differing factual circumstances. For instance, if you are a snow bird that spends ½ of the year up north and ½ of the year in your Florida home, does homestead apply? More than likely, I will do an entire separate article on some of the differing factual scenarios that I have run into. Suffice it to say that the normal person who lives in their home year-round will have no problems.

 

I mention LLCs and corporations, but irrevocable trusts, revocable trusts, and land trusts are a different question and will likely be addressed in another article. Suffice it to say that the homestead exemption can still be intact even if it is held by a trust. When analyzing whether the property will qualify when it is titled in another entities name, the task can be complex, so I would strongly encourage the use of a real estate attorney.

 

Are There Exceptions to the Homestead Creditor Protection?

Yes, and that is a BIG yes.

There are exceptions to the homestead creditor protection. For instance, set out in the constitutional provisions are 3 exceptions. Specifically, the provision states:

“except for the payment of taxes and assessments thereon, obligations contracted for the purchase, improvement or repair thereof, or obligations contracted for house, field or other labor performed on the realty,”

 

You Have To Pay Your Taxes. As you can see, the first exception is for “payment of taxes.” Essentially, you still have to pay your taxes. This concept is true throughout all of Florida law. You see this play out when you get notice of unpaid taxes, notice of tax certificates being issued, and notices of tax deed sales.

So, as general advice, it is always better to pay your taxes before you pay an unsecured creditor.

 

You also Have To Pay Your Mortgage Company and Your Builder. The next two provisions are also pretty obvious. These provisions go directly to money you borrowed to buy the house, i.e. “obligations contracted for the purchase.” This is your mortgage company. Just in case the foregoing was giving you the idea that you didn’t have to pay your mortgage, think again. I have defended enough foreclosures to tell that they can and will come from your home. So, pay your mortgage.

The last exception highlighted goes directly to people that you hired to improve or repair the property. This normally comes in the form of a construction liens. So, to put it simply, you can’t hire someone to build you a pool and not pay them.

 

Conclusion

 The Florida Homestead Exemption is one of the best asset protections tools available to Florida Citizens. Just remember, that if you own a home of appropriate size in Florida and live there, then likely your home will be protected from most creditors. When in doubt seek the advice of a Florida Asset Protection and Real Estate Attorney. 

 

I hope this blog post has introduced you to Florida Homestead Exemption. I also hope that it’s giving you a little bit of direction and perhaps the basic information you need to protect yourself and family.

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Will Contest – What Does It Mean to Contest a Will in Florida?

Will Contest – What Does It Mean to Contest a Will in Florida?

Whether you are a potential heir contesting a Will, or the executor defending the Will, you should know that the process of contesting a Will in Florida can be messy. In a nutshell, to contest a Will means that you want the court to throw out an existing Will and consider it void.

read more

Want Help With Your Estate Plan?

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Estate Planning – Do I Need It?

Estate Planning – Do I Need It?

Estate Planning – Do I Need It?

I think everybody worries what happens to their stuff when they pass away or what happens if you become incapacitated. These are extremely important questions and valid worries. It might surprise you but it is estimated that approximately 70% of people do not have an estate plan in place.

The purpose of this blog post is to begin to introduce to you what estate planning is. By the end of this blog post you should at least know where to begin or have a direction in which to head. Alright, let’s go.

As a preliminary statement, there is no exact definition of “estate planning.” Essentially, I define “estate planning” as the mechanisms or the systems you have in place to deal with your life or stuff in the instance of incapacitation or death.

For the most part, these systems or mechanisms can come in many forms, but generally fall under two main categories:

 

Category 1 – While You Are Alive

Category 2 – When You are Dead

Category 1 – While You Are Alive

 

You have to ask yourself the following questions: What happens if I get in a car accident and have brain damage? What happens if I have a stroke?

What happens medically is a topic for a different blog, but the legal and financial aspects of these questions are a main purpose of this blog and my legal practice. You need to be thinking about what systems or mechanisms you should have in place while you’re alive to address the questions above.

The short answer is to provide other trusted people with the authority or power to handle your affairs and make decisions when you can’t.

My favorite basic estate planning document is the Durable Power of Attorney, which covers legal and financial matters. This document has by far saved my clients time and money more times than any other estate planning mechanism.

I will talk about the Durable Power of Attorney, its uses, the legal requirements, and the pros and cons, in later blog posts, but for now you need to be thinking about putting one of these documents in place and fast.

While the Durable Power of Attorney handles legal and financial matters, the Designation of Health Care Surrogate handles medical. This document is also one of my favorite estate planning documents. This document authorizes individuals, other trusted people, to make medical decisions if you’re unable to, including the ultimate decision of whether to “pull the plug.”

Again, I will get into the Designation of Health Care Surrogate, its uses, the legal requirements, and the pros and cons, in later blog posts, however, for now, you need to be thinking about putting one of these documents place and fast.

 

Category 2 – When You Are Dead

 

You have to ask yourself the following questions: What happens too much stuff when I pass away? You saw the cause of death statistics above right? Including the stroke statistics?

Again, I will not be getting into the multitude of ways that a person can die. However, the legal and financial aspects of this question is a main purpose of this blog and my legal practice. As with Category 1 above, you need to be thinking about what systems or mechanisms you should have in place when you pass away to address the questions above.

The short answer is, generally, a Last Will and Testament or Living Trust. The purpose of these documents is to have a written instrument in place that dictates the handling and the distribution of your estate.

While this answer is very simplistic and there are multitude of other issues to address, either one of these documents can act and address the question of what happens to your stuff when you pass away. Much like the durable power of attorney and the designation of health care surrogate, the Last Will and Testament or Living Trust are my favorite basic estate planning tools to address what happens when you die.

 

Conclusion:

I hope this blog post has begun to introduce you to estate planning. I also hope that it’s giving you a little bit of direction and perhaps the basic documents you need put in place to address the questions that all of us have.

To summarize, I strongly suggest you look into putting following documents in place right now:

  1. Durable Power of Attorney,
  2. Designation of Health Care Surrogate,
  3. Last Will and Testament, and
  4. Living Trust.

Remember, you never know what or when something may happen.

I want to thank you for taking the time stop by our website and read our blog. If you’d like to know more please be sure to subscribe below, and if you like the content we provide please consider sharing this on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media.

As always, I look forward to your comments and question below.

Thanks again and I’ll talk to you soon,

Sean J. Seely

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Will Contest – What Does It Mean to Contest a Will in Florida?

Will Contest – What Does It Mean to Contest a Will in Florida?

Whether you are a potential heir contesting a Will, or the executor defending the Will, you should know that the process of contesting a Will in Florida can be messy. In a nutshell, to contest a Will means that you want the court to throw out an existing Will and consider it void.

read more

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Click Below to Schedule a FREE Initial Consultation!

 

 

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One of our main areas of practice is estate planning and in Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa and throughout Florida. We handle is Wills, Trusts, and Estates. Whether you want to protect your assets for your children, need help with a guardianship, or just need a Florida deed to trust, you can take comfort in knowing that our experienced estate planning lawyers, based in Navarre, Florida, are always looking out for your interests.

Our areas of emphasis include:

  • Estate Planning – We provide last wills and testaments, revocable and irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorneys, advanced directives / designation of healthcare surrogates, living wills, and other important documents that will help preserve your assets and reach your goals. We can also assist with advanced estate planning such as irrevocable trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and tax planning.
  • Guardianship Administration – We can help in the unfortunate circumstances where a court authorization is required to act on behalf of an incapacitated person, including cases of the elderly/infirm, mentally ill, and minors.

When you need a Pensacola, Cantonment, Pace, Milton, Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Fort Walton, or Crestview Estate Planning Lawyer, Call US!

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