Don’t worry, you don’t have to be another Michael Phelps and ready to retire at the age of only 27. Although his great success and million dollar endorsement deals will enable him to continue swimming, this time he much prefers to do laps in a pool of fresh, green Benjamins rather than chlorine.

However, to truly go for the gold, you have to protect your hard earned money. In South Florida, the golden rule to feeling like a true Olympian is that you must engage in estate planning, wealth preservation, and asset protection. It’s tragic that a person can spend his or her entire life amassing a fortune only to lose it all the next day. However, a champion knows how to keep it forever.

The first step is the easiest. All it takes is a simple phone call to your qualified and experienced South Florida estate planning attorney.

Click on the link below to listen to what Benjamin Franklin has to say about his Benjamins. Although you can’t wear these nuggets of wisdom around your neck, they fit perfectly inside your brain and help you to think like a winner when it comes to handling your fortune.

Click here to watch Ben Franklin discuss estate planning!

If you have family, friends or even a charitable intent, the absence of an estate plan is inexcusable. For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

Most people would probably be ecstatic to learn they inherited a $65 million Robert Rauschenberg bald eagle sculpture. However, the excitement can easily deaden when there’s an additional surprise attached- an astronomical $29 million tax bill!

That’s what happened to Nina Sundell and Antonio Homem, the children of Illeana Sonnabend, a prominent New York art dealer who left her children the majestic “Canyon” masterpiece. The 20th century artwork was initially valued at zero because it cannot be legally sold. Federal law prohibits the sale of a live or in this case, a stuffed bald eagle. Mrs. Sonnabend and the creator of “Canyon” managed to bypass this restriction, but the heirs are not so lucky. The IRS has appraised it at $65 million and slapped on an extra $11.7 million in penalties for the allegedly inaccurate appraisal.

The heirs have already paid over a staggering $471 million in federal and state estate taxes for the billion-dollar art collection. Approximately $600 million worth of art has already been sold to pay the taxes owed. However, the heirs are drowning in a financial mess because they cannot afford the taxes on the sculpture.

Such a nightmare could have been avoided by planning ahead.

In South Florida, proper estate planning and the utilization of appropriate measures in wealth transfer can protect assets and reduce estate taxes. We can’t avoid the tight grip of the IRS, but we can reduce the burden of exorbitant taxes with a little smart planning from your South Florida estate planning attorney. Make a smart, bold move and contact your attorney today.

If you have family, friends or even a charitable intent, the absence of an estate plan is inexcusable. For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

A fatal mistake in estate planning is not having a plan. Although, Carey’s plan involves joining “American Idol” as the new judge, South Floridians who do not have a Will in place, risk placing their loved ones at the mercy of another type of judge…the one presiding over the Probate court.

For example, if you have any minor children, they may not end up with the guardians of your choice and raised with the “Vision of Love” you imagined. Instead, the Probate judge will determine guardian appointment when there are no express instructions stated in a Will. You might unintentionally be “Bringin’ On the Heartbreak” when your little ones end up in the wrong hands or in foster care as wards of the state!

In addition, without a properly drafted Will directing the distribution of your assets, Florida laws of intestacy are triggered. This means that state law will govern who gets your assets and how much. The result may be one that you may not have had in mind. Without a Will, your wishes concerning burial or cremation procedures will also not be fulfilled.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance to have an estate plan in place that ensures your wishes are honored after you die. The last thing you want is your loved ones trying to make it “Through the Rain” when a simple call to your South Florida estate planning attorney can avoid unnecessary heartbreak in the future.

If you have family, friends or even a charitable intent, the absence of an estate plan is inexcusable. For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

Let’s hope it would more likely parallel a movie titled “The Fall of the Estate Tax”.

In this nonexistent film, a legendary Caped Crusader would instead use his intellect and detective skills in fighting high taxes for economic welfare.

Since we live in reality, the best way to reduce Federal estate tax is to keep abreast of new legislation and take advantage of every given opportunity.

Think of tax-free gifting as the bat-mobile in achieving this goal, especially for large estates. The annual exclusion gifts for 2012 are set at $13,000 per person, per recipient. The federal applicable lifetime exemption for transfers has increased to $5.12 million per person, which is the highest exemption thus far. There are also
gift and estate tax charitable deductions and also marital deductions to strongly consider. Maximizing all these incentives is smart planning. Over the long run, you can transfer significant sums of money out of your estate along with any appreciation, thereby reducing the tax.

Did you know that Forbes magazine listed Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, as the 9th richest fictional character with an estimated fortune of $5.8 billion? BusinessWeek named him as one of the ten most intelligent American superheroes. You can bet Gotham’s finest would be spending hours in his Batcave strategically gifting assets from his estate plan.

However, lucky for the rest of us, we have our highly qualified South Florida Estate Planning Attorney.

If you have family, friends or even a charitable intent, the absence of an estate plan is inexcusable. For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

Even love drunk celebrities that jump on Oprah’s couch get divorced. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes who were married for more than 5 years are no longer Hollywood’s picture perfect couple. The painful truth is that divorce in America is an epidemic with one in two marriages doomed to fail.

Estate planning becomes critical during such a major change in one’s life. It is paramount to contact your estate planning attorney so that you can update your Will and all necessary documents to reflect your new marital status. Not doing so is just risky business.

When you married, you probably left a large portion of your estate to your spouse by designating him or her as the primary beneficiary of your Will. You might want to rethink your asset distribution and appoint a new personal representative to administer your estate. Your attorney can redraft your entire Will or prepare a specialized addendum called a “codicil” to reflect these changes.

You may also want to update supplementary documents concerning incapacity such as the Durable Power of Attorney form and the Designation of Health Care Surrogate form. After divorce, the last person you probably want making financial and health care decisions on your behalf is your ex-spouse.

To avoid heading up the creek, you should also thoroughly review any existing Revocable Living Trusts. Most people prefer to remove the name of their ex-spouse as Trustee or beneficiary of the trust. When it comes to amending the terms of a trust, certain tax advantages could be lost so it’s important to consult your attorney as soon as possible.

With respect to life insurance, you will most likely prefer to re-designate the beneficiary of your policy. However, keep in mind that if such a step is taken prior to the final entry of a Divorce Decree, any accumulated cash value may be deemed a marital asset and thus become subject to equitable distribution in a divorce settlement.

The dissolution of marriage is a difficult and painful process; however, in South Florida, modifying your estate plan doesn’t have to be a mission impossible. With the help of your qualified South Florida estate planning attorney, all contingencies will be accounted for to ensure the protection of your assets and proper allocation to your intended beneficiaries.

If you have family, friends or even a charitable intent, the absence of an estate plan is inexcusable. For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?