As I sit here watching the Victoria Secret Fashion Show (I swear it was my wife’s idea!) I cannot help but think about…asset protection.

These stunning young ladies spend hours upon hours working out, dieting, and sculpturing their bodies to perfection, so 9.3 million Americans can curse their parents for bad genes and swear to begin dieting tomorrow. Thanks to the models hard work in the gym, their external assets guarantee them a spot on the runway.

Much like Giselle spends hours in the gym protecting her assets, we suggest spending a few hours a year on protecting your assets. However, you assets come in a different form, no offense.

These assets are in the form of estate and business planning. Estate and business planning gives you control over your assets from beyond the grave. What if you wish for your money to go to your daughter and not her new husband? Estate planning guarantees your baby girl receives the assets she deserves.

What if your business is sued? You may find yourself personally liable for judgment against your business and at risk of losing everything. When your assets are in a trust, they cannot be reached by creditors, litigation, bankruptcy or divorce.

In other words, for asset protection,Giselle avoids calories and you avoid creditors. 

To learn more about asset protection through estate planning visit http://wfplaw.com/Personal-Asset-Protection.html

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.

 In August of 2014, we were all shocked to hear about the tragic death of Robin Williams. What some of us may question is whether his assets were protected? Mr. Williams decided to opt out of a will and leave separate trusts for his three children and his current spouse. Which is great to keep documentation private and to leave out the long dreadful process of probate. However, in Mr. Williams’ case, his records were revealed. Why? Because he failed to appoint a successor trustee. The original trustee of the trusts had died leaving it up to the California probate court to appoint a successor trustee. Once documentation gets put into the court’s hands, it becomes public record. Unfortunately his plan to keep documentation private failed.

In this case, Mr. Williams did plan in advance and tried to keep his affairs outside of probate court, but, his trusts required a little more planning. Without proper planning, you can encounter some bumps in the road.

Here at WFP Law we ensure that you have a backup plan. Let us help you make the right decisions when it comes to Estate Planning in Florida. Come in today for a free consultation and learn how to avoid situations like these.

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.

Probate is a legal process that takes place after someone dies. This includes:

1. Proving to the Court that the Will is valid
2. Identifying and recording the deceased’s personal items
3. Appraising the property
4. Paying remaining taxes and debts
5. Providing remaining property to heirs

Just five simple steps, right? Wrong.

By reading the aforementioned process, you must believe probate goes something like this…

Grandma dies, grandma’s will is read by the court, grandma pays her taxes, then grandma gives her prized mahjong set to her favorite son. The family then skips off into sunset and lives happily ever after.

In an ideal world, we would all be eating milk and cookies while listening to the final requests of Bubbe. But the truth is, probate is a long, arduous, stressful process that does not include milk and cookies. In fact, by the time you are done with probate, you might feel like you are on the verge of death yourself.

Like your mother-in-law, probate is something you might want to avoid. But unlike your mother-in-law, probate is something you can avoid by visiting with an estate planning attorney and setting up a revocable trust.

It would behoove you to work with the estate-planning attorneys at Wild Felice & Partners and avoid the hell on earth called probate.

Here are three ways to avoid probate:

1. Living Trust: Living trusts were invented to avoid probate. Any asset held as part of a trust will avoid probate. This is so important so we will repeat that, any property within a trust will avoid probate. After the death of your loved one, the trustee can easily and quickly transfer the trust property to the family or friends it was designated to, without probate.

2. Joint Ownership of Property: By adding someone else to take title on your property, the papers show ownership. Therefore, when the owner dies, the property goes to the other joint-owner – no probate involved. However, you should NEVER own something with someone you aren’t married to. There are asset protection and tax consequences to doing to.

3. Gifts/Beneficiary Designations: Giving away property while you’re alive helps you avoid probate for a very simple reason: If you don’t own it when you die, it doesn’t have to go through probate. That lowers probate costs because, as a general rule, the higher the monetary value of the assets that go through probate, the higher the expense. However, be prepared to pay gift tax for any gift over $14,000 in a given year. Gifting at the time of death, via Trust or beneficiary designation, is much more affordable.

Losing a loved one is already a stressful and arduous experience. Why would you chose to allow your family to suffer through probate during their time of mourning? It is recommended to contact an estate-planning attorney to ensure your assets are all protected, including the mahjong set.

What is Elder Law?

Seniors are the fabric of our family. Their idiosyncrasy’s, morals and mannerisms lace through the generations. Even if you received your bad temper from your mother or type A personality from your father, you are thankful for everything they have done for you and your family. It is important to care for them as they have for you.

Elder law ensures the matriarchy and patriarch of your family is taken care of in various areas of their life. This includes three major categories:

1. Estate Planning
2. Long Term Care
3. Guardianship

Estate Planning

Your parents or elderly family members may have created a will several years ago. It is important that they updated their basic estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, durable power of attorney, health care surrogate and living will. It is recommended a specialized elder law attorney review these documents once a year.

Long Term Care

As your loved one gets older, you want to provide them the upmost care; however you are afraid of the costs associated with this care. Wild Felice and Partners have provided our clients assistance with the long-term costs such as nursing home or assisted living facilities. We can also assist with the requirements and application process of to be admitted into a home.

The government can assist with these costs, especially if you or your loved one has served in the military. It is important to speak with an estate planning and elder law attorney to ensure you are getting the full benefits you and your loved one deserves.

Guardianship

As your loved one gets older, it is very important to have a power of attorney in place to ensure he/she receives the exact treatment and care noted in the will. If the documents are not properly implemented, they may not uphold under the law.

History of Elder Law

The concept elder law was established in 1965 and signed into law under the Older Americans Act (OAA) by President Lyndon John. This authorized grants to States for service programs, funding for research and training projects in the field of again.

In 2000, it was amended National Family Caregiver Support Program, which was intended to help hundreds of thousands of family members who are struggling to care for their older loved ones who are ill or who have disabilities.

Elder law is not only a broad form of law but can also be a complicated one. We highly recommend working with a specialized elder law attorney so you can get the best long-term care, with the most benefits and at the discretion of your loved one.

To learn more about the benefits of elder law visit http://wfplaw.com/Elder-Law.html

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Wild Felice & Partners is a full-service, Fort Lauderdale, Florida based law firm with a specialty in estate planning, asset protection, elder law, and probate administration. Our law firm provides the knowledge and experience of a large law firm, while giving our clients the hands-on service and attention to detail that only a smaller firm can truly offer.

Wild Felice & Partners, PA
Attorneys at Law
101 North Pine Island Road,
Suite 201
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33324

Estate Planning Blunders

We all make mistakes.

Forgot to turn off the coffee pot, oops.

Burnt the chicken, things happen.

Give all your retirement savings to your ex-husband instead of your children, no big deal.

Here is where we insert the sound of a screeching halt.

People make mistakes, but the latter of the three should not be one of them.

As Halloween approaches, it’s time to gather around and tell the scariest stories you have ever heard. Disclaimer: these stories may cause one to lose sleep, experience night sweats, and worst of all… call an attorney.

Story I: The not-so-wise old man.

Benjamin* was successful gentleman; he worked hard and amassed significant wealth throughout his life. One day, Benjamin met a beautiful younger woman. As a widow, he was happy to have found someone to enjoy his time with. Benjamin was smitten over the bombshell and decided to take the relationship to the next level and give her partial control of his assets during his lifetime.

Unbeknownst to him, the girlfriend had transferred a significant portion of the estate to herself. At his death, his children were left with nothing. Once it was discovered, it was too late. The assets were spent or transferred out of jurisdiction.

The lesson learned: don’t date young women or pick the right person to be in control of your assets before and after your passing.

Story II: Money to strangers

As an attorney looked over his client’s trust he became a little disturbed. William* was set to give $50,000 to two different people that he did not even know! How is that even possible you ask?

William knew he had to set up a trust. One night he used the trusted and credible Internet to do so. However, when he copied and pasted an old trust from the Internet, he failed to take out the previous information.

Thank goodness William was smart enough to meet with an attorney and get this fixed before it could have been a true horror story. 

Story III: Cheap is expensive.

We all love the Mad Libs game. You get a story and are prompted to fill in the blanks within the story before reading it. It always ends in barrels of laughter. This story however, does not leave anyone laughing.

Probate is not a game, but perhaps Alice* thought so. Ninety-year-old Alice decided to get preprinted wills from a local office supply store. Much like Mad Libs, Alice filled in the empty spaces and considered this paperwork her will. Upon her death, this “document” failed to conform to the laws of the state in which she lived.

Rather than paying an experienced attorney to prepare her will, her family suffered through a long, lengthy and costly probate. No laughing matter there…

*All names have been changed

To learn more about Estate Planning  and avoiding these situations, visit our website at www.wfplaw.com, you can also schedule a free consultation at http://wfplaw.com/Contact-Us.html.