From the beloved Nelson Mandela all the way to Hitlers bodyguard, this year has waived farewell to a long list of notable deaths. As this year takes its exit, let’s look back on some of those who took their final bow in 2013:

• Charles Foley, age 82 – an inventor most well known for Patent No. 3,454,279, aka “Twister,” the innocent game of compromising positions.
• Bruce Reynolds, age 81 – the criminal who was the mastermind behind the 1963 “Great Train Robbery,” which was Britain’s largest robbery at the time (about 41 million pounds). He successfully ran for 5 years, until he was caught to serve a 25 year sentence term. Ironically enough, following his release, Reynolds lived off of income support in a London flat supplied by a charitable trust.
• Deacon Jones, age 74 – the defensive end in the NFL., best known for coining the term “sack,” as in “sacking the quarterback.” A maneuver in which he excelled.
• Chris Kelly, age 34 – the rapper of the ’90s kid rap duo Kris Kross. Kelly was known as Mac Daddy, and best known for the megahit “Jump.”
• Rochus Misch, age 96 – also known as Hitler’s bodyguard. Although he persistently denied having any knowledge of the millions of deaths caused by the Nazis,  he was reportedly “the most unrepentant and unapologetic Hitler supporter you could ever have the misfortune to meet.”
•  Sylvia Browne, age 77 – click here.
• Nelson Mandela, age 95 –  a inspiration to millions who sought to end the oppression of more than four decades of institutionalized racial segregation. After being imprisoned as a terrorist for 27 years by a white-minority government, he united his African nation to its first multiracial democracy. He served as the country’s first black president, becoming a national emblem of racial reconciliation throughout the world.

The best take away from this year, as demonstrated by the preceding names, is to plan ahead for the unknown. You never know when your exit will take place, all you can do is have the following documents in your estate plan:

1. Living Trust – the best way to maintain control over all of your assets and distributions, while avoiding the hassle, expense, and lack of privacy associated with probate.

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

Tween heart-throb sensation, Justin Bieber, has announced that he will be officially settling down into retirement; and after 21 years of bieber-fever, can you blame him? Perhaps he’s merely taking a bow from wooing the pre-teens of the world with his angelic vocals, to try out his acting chops in the next Nicholas Sparks romance drama “I Belieb in Love.” Regardless of where his early retirement leads him, the same remains true: retirement is a life event that requires a reevaluation of your estate plan. An estate plan is a living entity; as factors in your life change, your plan should be altered accordingly. After settling into retirement, you may want to reconsider if the following documents are meeting your current needs and wishes.

• Living Trust & Assignment of Property – a living trust allows you to distribute your assets while ultimately avoiding probate (the legal process of determining whether a will is valid). Re-examine your income stream and how you will want your assets distributed after your death. This is a good time to look at your entire estate and determine if you will need additional tax planning.
• 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. You may want to change who you have designated as a guardian, or burial requests.
• 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. As time goes on, you may want to change who will have the power to make financial decisions on your behalf. Furthermore, you want to ensure that your power of attorney document provides “super powers” to allow the agent to make decisions regarding retirement accounts, public benefits, gift exemptions, disclaiming property, and similar provisions that have financial consequences to your estate.
• 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. You may decide that you will not want any life prolonging procedures in the event that you have one of the following conditions: (i) terminal condition (ii) end-state condition; or (iii) persistent vegetative state. In this case, you want to ensure that you have such wishes outlined in your living will.

Be a Belieber in planning ahead, and update your estate plan! 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

Recent polls reveal that “It’s a Wonderful Life” has been voted the Christmas film of all time. The classic film took the number one spot over other Christmas favorites, including Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone, and the Muppet Christmas Carol.

Although we can all agree that It’s a Wonderful Life, most of us are not prepared for it to end! The “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas” salutations are rarely accompanied with the declaration that “we are all going to die;” we thought we would steal the Grinch’s moment, and be the bearers of bad news. If you have lost a loved one that failed to put a probate-avoiding-estate plan into place, you will be dealing with a mighty gruesome process. However, with the right attorney (and maybe a little holiday eggnog), the stress associated with probate can be significantly reduced.

Probate is the process of validating and distributing the decedent’s assets. This includes a variety of payments that the personal representative will be responsible for distributing, including those to creditors, the court fees, taxes and administration expenses (estate costs, funeral costs, etc.). Naturally, this will also include distributions to the beneficiaries entitled to the assets, as named in the will or trust. This entire process involves extremely complex considerations that are not apparent to anyone who is not trained in the practice of probate administration. Slight mistakes can result in a significant increase in both time and money; and thus it is very important to ensure that the estate is being administered properly. This process will involve tax related consequences, dealing with creditors, inventorying property, appraising property, paying off debts, court filings, procedures to avoid litigation, and considerations associated with exempt property, family allowance, and elective share benefits. In Florida, you cannot avoid the probate process, but you can shift the burden to a trusted attorney who can provide the most expedient and stress free process as possible.

It is a wonderful life, but don’t let it be a Grinch in death – find the right attorney to manage and avoid the pitfalls and problems associated with probate! 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

If your sickness mitigation plan is packaged in one little pill that claims to enrich your body with not one, but “multi” vitamins,” the newly-published editorial in Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that a reevaluation is in order. The piece says that “taking supplements offers no benefit when it comes to preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer or a second heart attack.” However, those in the study lived healthier lifestyles than the average American, because most Americans don’t have a healthy diet, and therefore, don’t get the vitamins and minerals they need. Thus, if you are dealing with a vitamin C deficiency, you can guzzle some OJ, or pop your multivitamin; nevertheless, you will need a back up plan to mitigate your health risks. Furthermore, until your packaged-plan includes a mortality pill, you will also need to prepare for health related events that extend beyond the common vitamin deficiency. The following documents will ensure that you maintain control of your assets during sickness, incapacity, and death (aka, the life-deficiency).

When dealing with sickness, you will want to have a Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate in place – 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. In the event of incapacitation, you will also want to have a document drafted that names a Durable Power of Attorney who can step in your shoes and legally act on your behalf. In terms of after-life planning, you want to make sure that your loved ones are protected, and your assets are distributed according to your wishes. This will require the following:

• 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.
• 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.
•  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.

Don’t let a little deficiency stand in your way – 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