In the spirit of Halloween, and all that is frightening, let us take a look at some of infamous celebrity horror stories that have resulted from a lack of proper estate planning.

What better way to start this topic off than with a story of Jerry Garcia, leader of the band the Grateful Dead. Although Garcia had a Last Will & Testament in place, it’s provisions were ambiguous, leading to a series of challenges that were probably not resolved according to his intent. Furthermore, Garcia had named his third wife as both an executor of his estate and as a beneficiary, yet she was to look out for the interest of his second wife, and four of his children that he had with other women. This resulted in the second ex-wife suing the estate, and ultimately receiving only $1.5 million of the $5 million Garcia promised her. It is important to clearly express your intent in all of your estate planning documents. Furthermore, you do not want to name an executor of your estate who has any conflicting interest with other beneficiaries.

While the Elvis Presley costumes are running rampant during this Halloween season, let them be a reminder that a Last Will & Testament is not sufficient in itself for a complete estate plan. The King of Rock n’ Roll left a $10 million estate to his heirs, who ended up only receiving about 10% of it. The fees associated with probate alone cost his estate nearly $2 million. If Presley would have set up a pour-over will, that filtered all of his assets into a trust, he would have been able to avoid probate.

We are all familiar with the story of Anna Nicole Smith, the stunning hot-mess that married 89-year-old businessman, J. Howard Marshall. Marshall had executed his will just days before marrying Anna Nicole, and passed away the following year. The provisions of the will named only one beneficiary, and it wasn’t Anna Nicole. She challenged the will, but after a series of appeals, never received a dime (just this year, the court awarded sanctions to Smith’s daughter). When Anna Nicole died from an overdose (six months after her first son died and second child was born), she left behind a will that excluded her newborn daughter & left everything to her deceased son. Furthermore, the will stated that it would not include after born children. There are quite a few take-aways from this love-story: (1) if you do not want your spouse/child/etc. to be a beneficiary, you should specifically exclude them in your will (rather than merely failing to make any provisions for them); (2) if you have children from a previous marriage, you need to be very cautious in drafting an estate plan to ensure that they will be provided for; (3) if you experience any changes in your family relationships, you need to review and potentially change your estate plan immediately.

This Halloween, remember these techniques to avoid your own estate planning horror story! For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

Just when we were about to lose faith in our government, Congress finally settled on a deal that ended the infamous 16-day shutdown. The good news – there will be no default on the national debt. The bad news – American’s are not very fond of Congress. In a poll from Public Policy, Congress’ approval ratings were compared to a variety of those of the less desirable kind. The following won over Congress : hemorrhoids (53%-31%), jury duty (73%-18%), toenail fungus (44%-41%), cockroaches (44%-42%), the IRS (42%-33%), the respondents’ mothers-in-law (64%-20%), potholes (47%-36%) and zombies (43%-37%). However, congress did have better approval ratings than Russian President Vladimir Putin, former congressman Anthony Weiner, Lindsay Lohan, and Honey Boo Boo.

If you, like the respondents in the above poll, are not so fond about the idea of leaving your future in someone else’s hands – the following five estate planning documents will ensure that your future-planning receives a better approval rating than the cockroaches and zombies.

1. Living Trust – a living trust has become increasingly desirable due to its ability to avoid probate (the legal process of determining whether a will is valid). If you are married, you may want to designate yourself and your spouse as co-trustees, so that you have full control over the property while you are still alive. Side Note: such control does have tax consequences, so you will want to discuss this with your estate planning attorney.

2. Assignment of Property – this is exactly that, assigning your property to your trust. In other words, placing your property into the trust. This includes both real & personal property. A trust does not do anything for you if there is no property in it.

3. Last Will & Testament – this is your traditional will that is used upon death to distribute property to beneficiaries, specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.

4. Durable Power of Attorney – this allows you to designate and authorize someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated.

5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – this outlines important healthcare decisions in advance, and appoints a healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you when you become unable to do so yourself.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

According to researchers at the University of Florida & the McNight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste, it seems as though a simple whiff of peanut butter can identify your chances of having Alzheimer’s. The study measured the distance in which the patients (both those suffering from dementia, as well as the control group) could smell a spoon of peanut butter with they eyes closed – one nostril at a time! The researchers discovered that the ability of patients in early stages of Alzheimer’s to detect the peanut butter varied significantly between nostrils.

Although an estate plan cannot tell you if you will be dealing with lack of capacity in the near future, there are many documents you should have in your plan to ensure that you are prepared for as much. Look to the following health-related documents to plan for the day where you many not wake up and smell the peanut butter!

1. Durable Power of Attorney – this allows you to designate and authorize someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated. The instrument will specifically state the powers that you are giving the person that you nominate to act on your behalf. Furthermore, this person must make decisions that are in your best interest, not their own. Take careful consideration in determining who you want stepping into your shoes.

 2. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – this outlines important healthcare decisions in advance, and appoints a healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you when you become unable to do so yourself. Be certain to name someone, otherwise, a proxy may be designated in which you would never chose yourself. You want to chose who’s hands your life is in, right?

Whether or not you can smell the peanut butter, be sure to include medical-related documents into your estate plan, ensuring you have control when you otherwise would not!

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

SCANDAL is back, and is gaining heat with its steamy performances. The third season premiered this Thursday, with significant growth; showing a 57% increase in viewers. The ABC drama stars Kerry Washington, also known as Olivia Pope – the fierce crisis mitigator who protects the images of the nation’s public figures, including the President, whom she is having a running on and off affair with.

Unfortunately, when it comes to real life, we can’t exactly call on “Olivia Pope” to run around fixing our problems. We can, however, mitigate future crises by planning ahead.

Consider the following estate planning documents as a means to “Olivia Pope” your life:

1. Living Trust – a living trust has become increasingly desirable due to its ability to avoid probate (the legal process of determining whether a will is valid). If you are married, you may want to designate yourself and your spouse as co-trustees, so that you have full control over the property while you are still alive. Side Note: such control does have tax consequences, so you will want to discuss this with your estate planning attorney.

2. Assignment of Property – this is exactly that, assigning your property to your trust. In other words, placing your property into the trust. This includes both real & personal property. A trust does not do anything for you if there is no property in it.

3. Last Will & Testament – this is your traditional will that is used upon death to distribute property to beneficiaries, specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.

4. Durable Power of Attorney – this allows you to designate and authorize someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated.

5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – this outlines important healthcare decisions in advance, and appoints a healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you when you become unable to do so yourself.

What would Olivia Pope do? She would be equipped for tomorrow’s unexpected!  For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

YOU would have to be living under a rock to avoid hearing about the current government “shutdown.” For the estimated 800,000 federal workers who’s jobs are now on hold, this news is especially unwelcome. While there is nothing we can do to get the House & the Senate to agree on anything, we can lay out a plan to thwart the negative effects of  one of life’s surprising crises.

A properly designed asset protection plan can accomplish many of your most important objectives:

• Protection of family savings and investments from lawsuits and claims.
• Protection against inadequate or unavailable insurance coverage.
• Insulation of rental properties reducing your exposure to potential lawsuits.
• Protection of business assets and accounts receivable from potential claims.
• Elimination of probate.
• Reduction of estate taxes.

Consider incorporating the following documents into your estate plan:

1. Living Trust – gain control, asset protection, & preclusion of unnecessary taxes; ensuring asset protection for your beneficiaries.
2. Assignment of Property – place all of your property into the trust, and avoid costs & headache associated with probate.
3. Last Will & Testament – used to distribute property to beneficiaries (or a trust), specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.
4. Durable Power of Attorney – gain control by designating someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated.
5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – gain control by making important healthcare decisions for yourself in advance.

Prevent a shutdown on your assets, and plan ahead! For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM