You spent summers there, squishing sand between your toes while ocean breezes ruffled your hair. Your own children played under the lofty pines in the front yard while discovering the house’s secrets and building lifelong bonds. Now, your grandchildren eagerly await their time on the front porch swing with you. Preserving memories is important. Keeping your vacation home in the family starts with including it in your Read More
The Florida ABLE Account: Relief for Disabled People
People with special needs often face rapidly increasing costs for their care and shrinking public benefits. For example, eligibility for some benefits is based on the recipient’s income and resources. Applicants may try to keep their income below those limitations only to see their available funds are insufficient to meet their needs. The Florida ABLE Account is in place to provide relief for disabled Read More
Funding Your 529 Accounts
Rachel held her newborn granddaughter, Sophia, and dreamed of her future. She saw her celebrating all the “firsts” – first birthday, first day of school, first date. Rachel smiled as she imagined Sophia proudly accepting her diploma from the college of her choice. Her smile faded as she next saw Sophia buried under a mountain of school loans. Luckily for Sophia, her grandmother knew several ways to save for a college Read More
Purchasing Real Estate in Florida: Will it Affect Your Estate Plan?
Buying real estate of any kind, in any location, requires due diligence and attention to details. Is the location right for you? Is the property being bought for personal use or to generate an income? Adding real property to your portfolio may increase the value of your portfolio. Increasing or decreasing the value of your assets can affect your estate plan in big ways. Effect on Value of Estate. Increasing your Read More
Steps for Establishing Florida Residency
Perhaps you spend six months in Connecticut and six months in Florida. You own property in both states, previously were considered a resident of Connecticut, but would like to make Florida your official state of residency. An individual can take a number of steps to establish Florida residency Is Dual Residency Possible? According to federal law, dual residency is not allowed. It’s necessary, then, to establish Read More
Should You Serve as Someone’s Power of Attorney?
Perhaps a family member or close friend has asked to name you to be their agent under a power of attorney. It sounds like an easy thing to do, but you’re not sure what your responsibilities would be. Before you say ‘yes,’ here are some things you should know about serving as someone’s agent under a power of attorney. A power of attorney enables one person (the “principal”) to name another person (the “agent”) to Read More
Understanding Dynasty Trusts
Establishing a dynasty trust has some major benefits for those seeking to protect generational wealth. One of the primary purposes of a dynasty trust is to shelter family assets from the effects of transfer taxes for generations. Here’s what you need to know about them. What are they? The purpose of the dynasty trust is similar to that of many other trusts, namely to protect family wealth from creditors, Read More
3 Important Concepts of Florida Homestead and their Meanings
In Florida, you may be able to protect the value of your primary residence, including the building and the land, from creditors, and receive a discount on property taxes. If you meet the qualifications of homestead in Florida, you will want to make sure you take full advantage of all the benefits. Florida homestead laws are among the most favorable in the country for homeowners and can help save you and your family a Read More
What Wills Do Not Cover: Incapacity Planning
A will is an important part of an overall effective estate plan. Wills, however, do not become operative until death. In other words, if the person signing the will becomes incapacitated, the will does not contain provisions that will help in dealing with this scenario. Therefore, incapacity planning is an essential part of a comprehensive estate plan. What is Incapacity Planning? Incapacity planning Read More
Does a Revocable Living Trust Really Protect the Settlor’s Assets? The Answer May Surprise You
When setting up a revocable trust, many people assume that one of the primary benefits to the trust is protection from creditor claims. While there are trusts that may be used to accomplish this goal, in Florida, a revocable trust does not provide protection to the trust settlor from creditors, Medicaid expenses, and more. (Contrastingly, significant asset protection can be provided to trust beneficiaries after the Read More
