The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has become a viral Internet sensation, raising over  $15 million so far for the ALS Association to research Lou Gehrig’s disease. Not only has this phenomenon multiply donations to find a cure, but it has also spread ALS awareness.

Awareness of this terrible disease can make you think about the sudden changes life can bring regardless of whether you know someone who has been affected by ALS.   Regardless of age or health, it is never too early to start planning ahead because you never know what the future will bring to you or your loved ones.

A proper estate plan will answer three key questions: what are your assets? Where are they going? How will they get there? These questions are simple but the answer can be quite complicated. The planning process takes time and varies depending on the particular circumstances of each individual. An estate plan is a living entity; as factors in your life change, your plan should be altered accordingly. With the assistance of the right attorney you can choose from a variety of estate-planning techniques in Florida to create an estate plan that fits your needs and wishes such as:

• 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.

Planning for the future and using the technique that’s right for you will protect your family from hassles when the time comes. Get ahead of the other 50% of Florida resident and get an estate plan now. It’s never too early to 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

Managing Partner, Michael Wild is interviewed by 940amWinz Radio Hosts, Jeff De Forrest and Brett Tessler talking a little Estate Planning and a lot Football. Click the Play Button Listen!

In a world of paperless statements, life is much less cluttered and complicated. Unless you die of course.

The digital forms of your will, finances, business, personal and administrative documents probably reside online, guarded by a complex password of your dogs name or a string of random numbers. While we congratulate you for making your password so difficult to decipher, this will one day be a major problem after you die. Often, family members are denied access or may not even know this account exists.  In fact, 63 percent of people don’t know what will happen to their digital assets when they die, according to a survey by Rocket Lawyer, an online legal service.

By creating a digital estate plan you are giving your loved ones:

• Access to these accounts online,
• Ability to transfer digital assets to the appropriate parties
• Capability of determining if an account needs to be submitted to probate
• Avoiding Online Theft

In addition to your bank statements, personal and business documents, do not overlook your email accounts, online retail accounts (Paypal, Ebay or Amazon), Social Media Channels (ie. Facebook, Instgram or Twitter), Utility bills you pay online or a digital wallet.

Since most of us are cruising the web so frequently, this task appears quite daunting. We suggest that you create digital inventory overtime, keep the list close to your computer so you can continually add to it when you are reminded of a particular site.  In this list, include instructions for what should happen to each account. Would you like it deactivated or allow someone to log in and use?

Once complete, keep this list in a safe spot. One option is the safety deposit box at your bank.

Lastly, it is important to name your “digital executor.” This is the person you designate to carry out your digital estate plan upon your death, ensuring that your end-of-life requests are met. Make sure this person is written in your will and is able to carry out your wishes.

Our lives are online and we must be proactive to protect those digital assets. Let your love ones grieve and celebrate your life instead of leaving them with the hassles of finding your passwords and online accounts.

To learn more, Please contact Wild Felice & Partners, South Florida Estate Planning Attorneys at http://wfplaw.com/

A special needs trust is designed for beneficiaries who are disabled, either physical or mentally. It is often viewed at as a stand-alone document that can be included in a Last Will and Testament or a Revocable Living Trust.

Special Needs trusts can provide benefits far beyond a traditional trust, addressing the specific needs of that disabled family member. Some of these benefits include supplemental security income, Medicaid, vocational rehab, and subsidized housing to name a few.

If the beneficiary lacks the legal capacity to handle his/her finances, an administrator, whether a private trust run by family members or by trustees appointed to the court, can hold and manage property intended for the beneficiary. In additional to the unlimited amount of assets a Special Needs Trust can provide, it can also protect your beneficiary should they encounter a lawsuit. Trust funds are not subject to creditors or seizures, and are not subject to judgment.

It is important to keep in mind that when a child turns 18, they are presumed to have the legal rights of adults, no matter their condition.  Therefore, parents and guardians should make a valiant effort to learn about all the different options for their beneficiary and seek legal counsel. It is important to remember that if you wish to set up a special needs trust, you need to do so with an attorney familiar with this area of law. A poorly written trust can be ineffective if not written properly.

To learn more about special needs trusts or discuss other estate planning options, contact Michael Wild of Wild Felice & Partners in Plantation for a free consultation.

As if the bar exam isn’t stressful enough for test takers, hopeful future lawyers across the country found themselves unable to upload their first day exams after the ExamSoft servers were apparently unable to handle the massive traffic. While the issue appears to be on its way to resolution, test takers were still subjected to a tremendous amount of stress before the second part of the test. ExamSoft had years to prepare for this level of traffic and yet the system was not ready and many students suffered unnecessary stress. This situation mirrors what your loved ones will go through if you do not have a proper estate plan in place at your death, especially if your estate has to go through probate.

Probate is the mandatory process in Florida of validating a will (if there is one) and distributing the assets to the beneficiaries. This process usually lasts at least six months and can take substantially longer depending on the size of the estate or complexity of the assets. While the probate is going on, the estate assets are frozen while they are marshaled and prepared for distribution. Creditors are also paid off out of the estate before distribution. During this time, the presumed beneficiaries do not have access to the estate property. This can lead to financial hardship and liquidity issues for the surviving family members. Furthermore, probating an estate is costly, which continues to decrease the inheritance the beneficiaries will receive.

Whether you die with a will or not, you will still have to probate your estate if your probatable estate exceeds $75,000 (Florida’s probate limit.) A will alone is not a sufficient device for avoiding probate. The benefit of having a will is that you can decide who gets what from your estate, and you can also name a guardian, but a will does not avoid probate. To effectively avoid probate, a trust based estate plan should be used. A trust based plan avoids probate by transferring ownership from you as an individual to your living trust. You will be able to use all your assets in the exact same way, but when you die, your estate will pass to your beneficiaries without going through probate. In addition to the benefit of avoiding probate, a trust based plan also gives you as grantor increased control over who gets the assets down the road and creditor protection for your beneficiaries.

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