Thu12

A Roof On Your Head And Money In Your Pocket

Posted by on Mar 12, 2015 in asset protection, estate planning, Legal News, Probate, Real Estate, tax |

homestead

In Florida, a person who owns and resides on real property and makes it his or her permanent residence is eligible to receive a homestead exemption up to $50,000.

In order to qualify your Florida homestead, you and your home must meet three criteria:

  • You must have legal or beneficial title to the home on January 1 of the current year.
  • You must reside at the home as your permanent residence.
  • You must apply for the homestead exemption in person at the property appraiser’s office in the county where your home is located between January 1 and March 1 of the year in which you are seeking the homestead exemption.

While in many other states, a persons homestead is not protected from creditors and can be lost to claims for Medicaid reimbursement, this is not the case in Florida. Some of the multiple benefits of the homestead exemption are protection from creditors, reduction of property taxes and protection to the surviving spouse or minor child.

Less well understood are the homestead protections from the claims of creditors and the restrictions on transfers of homestead property at death. WFP Law can help explain these Florida homestead concepts at a free consultation.

Michael D. Wild is a Florida attorney specializing in the areas of estate planning, asset protection and probate administration. To learn more about estate planning, please contact the South Florida law firm of WFP Law at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation. It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

 

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Wed11

Your Business Is Successful…Until This Happens.

Posted by on Mar 11, 2015 in Business Plan |

Four Vital Aspects to Include in Your Business Plan

Four Vital Aspects to Include in Your Business Plan

You have all-star employees, high profit margins, the corner office and your own private bathroom. Business is booming again and you think to yourself….oh what a wonderful world.

Until you get sued.

You can kiss that corner office and private porcelain potty goodbye, because the one thing you didn’t have was a business plan to protect yourself.

You are savvy in your industry, but may have forgotten a few very important aspects to a successful business plan. They include:

Partnerships for Asset Protection

Creating partnerships will limit your exposure to liability now and avoid losses to your business and family in the future. In fact, a creditor will not have access to any property that is titled to the limited partnership or to a multi-member LLC.

Click here if you wish to learn more: http://wfplaw.com/Partnerships-for-Asset-Protection.html

Corporate Formation

By forming a corporation, you can limit your exposure to lawsuits and reduce your overall liabilities. In addition, forming a corporation comes with a plethora of tax benefits.

Click here to learn more: http://wfplaw.com/Corpoate-Formation.html

Document Drafting

Proper legal preparation of your corporate documents, employment contracts and non-compete agreements can be crucial to the protection of your work product.

Business Succession Planning

Implementing a plan in the event of your death, illness, or incapacitation can protect your fellow colleagues as well as your family. Sometimes your business could be the largest asset you leave to your family. But without a business succession plan, you risk probate and no say in how the business is handled after your death.

Click here to learn more: http://wfplaw.com/Corpoate-Formation.html

Wild Felice and Partners understands every business is unique. We are able to provide a full range of services to ensure your business is protected at all angles. We pride ourselves on providing accurate advice for your specific business needs.

If you have any questions regarding business planning, estate planning or asset protection, we here to help.

Wild Felice and Partners provide estate planning and asset protection in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Weston and Miami.

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Wed11

French Americans: Know Your Rights And Stay In Control

Posted by on Mar 11, 2015 in Legal News, Probate, tax, Wills |

NOTAIRE last

What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine… Not always true.

Probate is the legal process used in Florida by which property and assets are transferred to the heirs or intended beneficiaries of the deceased person. The concept of probate does not exist in French law, property and assets pass automatically upon death to the heirs. Whatever your Last Will and Testament might say, it can be overturned by your protected heirs. In the majority of cases these will be your children. So you cannot cut your children out of your Will under French law.

Under American law anyone making a Will has “testamentary freedom” which means that you can choose whoever you want to inherit your property and assets and in whatever proportions as long as this is set out in a valid Will.

Another important fact is that in France the inheritance tax is paid by each beneficiary on the shares that they receive whereas in Florida there is no inheritance tax for amounts below $5.43 million per person.

Michael D. Wild is a Florida attorney specializing in the areas of estate planning, asset protection and probate administration. To learn more about probate administration, please contact the South Florida law firm of WFP Law at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation. It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

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Fri27

My heart beats for you…until it doesn’t

Posted by on Feb 27, 2015 in estate planning, Trusts |

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February is the month of heart shaped chocolates and cards that express how your heart belongs/beats/flutters/etc. for your Valentine. Thus, it’s not necessarily an ideal time to be confronted with the grave reminder of how fleeting life can be, and the importance of planning for the unknown. However, for many, such planning is for the benefit of family and loved ones. Although we have little control over our fate, you can ensure that your loved ones are protected in the event of your own sickness or death. The following estate planning documents can be customized to ensure that your loved one’s are protected, not only in health, but also in sickness and death.

  • Last Will & Testament – used to distribute property to beneficiaries (or a trust), specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children. You can use a pour over will that funnels all of your property into the trust, to ensure greater asset protection for your loved ones.
  • Living Trust – gain control, asset protection, & preclusion of unnecessary taxes; designate a trustworthy (no pun) Trustee. You can further provide that your assets continue in trust for the benefit of your loved ones, providing them greater protection from the claims of others.
  • Durable Power of Attorney – gain control by designating someone to legally act on your behalf. There are many types of POA’s (“power of attorney”), but a “Durable” power of attorney means the power will be in effect even when you become incapacitated. Therefore, ensuring that any important business related decisions can be made in the event that you cannot make them yourself.
  • Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – make important healthcare decisions for yourself in advance. Determine who can access your health records and make medical decisions on your behalf.
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Fri27

Roses are red, Violets are blue, Protect what’s yours and control it too.

Posted by on Feb 27, 2015 in asset protection, estate planning |

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Once upon a time (cue happily ever after music), there was a Prince who wanted to protect the Princess from his enemies, so he shipped her off to a far away land. …if you just heard the record scratch to a halt, it’s because this is not your story-book-happy-ending. The real storybook version ends with Prince & Princess cozying up in the castle, safe from all the evil step-mother’s, witches, and dragons. Whether in the storybooks, or good ol’ reality, the happy ending remains the same: you want to protect what is yours, without losing the benefits associated with it. The following plans are among the many strategies that can provide protection from the fire-huffing-dragons, while effectively maintaining control.

LLC Based Asset Protection Plan:

An LLC allows you to use and control an asset, yet you will not own the asset in your name. Rather, it will be owned by the LLC or LLP. Therefore, by separating your assets into several LLC’s, you are safeguarding them from being pulled into a lawsuit brought against you, as they are owned by the LLC.

An LLC is a “Limited Liability Company.” It provides the desirable liability features of a corporation, without all of the extra hassle (paperwork, etc). Lets say you have a boat. So you give it a clever and punning name, and put it in an LLC. A judgment against you is not valid against the LLC and the asset it holds (the boat). Furthermore, lets say you have an investment property (a high risk lawsuit property), and a tenant injures themselves on the property, and commences a lawsuit. They can only sue the LLC. Your home and other assets (bank account, etc.) may not be touched, because you do not own the property, thus you are not personally liable. It’s like being a stockholder in a corporation.

Due to the fact that there are several requirements to properly forming an LLC, you may want to seek an attorney (that has a thorough understanding of such asset protection) to assist you in ensuring that the LLC is valid; otherwise, your safeguarding efforts will be futile. Also, keep in mind; the timing of the asset transfer cannot be done to actively avoid a present creditor, as it may be considered a “fraudulent conveyance.” Therefore, it is important to partake in these asset protection strategies prior to any legal or financial problems. The early bird gets the worm – Don’t let it be the Vulture!

Trust Based Asset Protection Plan:

While a living trust is a great tool for estate planning, especially for those who want to avoid probate; it is not as effective in preventing claims of others. An irrevocable trust, on the other hand, allows you to give up “control” for purposes of ownership, in the same way you do with the above LLC. Unlike the living trust, you do not want to name yourself as trustee; rather, you should consider an independent trustee (bank, etc.). You could allow your spouse to be the trustee, but must be certain that they are limited to “ascertainable standards” (where the distributions can only be made for health, education, maintenance, and support.” Furthermore, you want to include a spendthrift clause, which allows distributions to be discretionary, rather than mandatory.

By utilizing estate-planning techniques, you can protect yourself and your family from unnecessary hassles, while safeguarding your assets. With the help of an estate-planning attorney, there are a variety of tools that can be customized to your goals, and implemented to ensure a “happily-ever-after” in your storybook.

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