SIMILAR to her new single, “We Can’t Stop,” Miley Cyrus can’t seem to stop the evolution of change that has recently caused a ruckus among fans and critics alike. The adorable “Hannah Montana” Disney star has cultivated a very strong change within the past years, resulting into the evolution of an especially alarming reputation with her provocateur-meets-streetwalker image. Winston Churchill once stated that “to improve is to change.” However, in Miley’s case, the only thing that has improved with her recent change is the gossip magazines’ ratings. I think what Churchill meant was, “to change is to improve,” and he was probably talking about your estate plan. Although change may be a sore subject for Miley, altering your estate plan after a life change is very good! If you have experienced any of the following life changes, it may be time to update your estate plan!

 Marriage & Divorce: If you have recently married or divorced, it is important to go back through your current estate plan to see whether these life events are addressed in your will or trust documents. First and foremost, marriage does not revoke a will. Divorce, however, may have an effect on the validity of the will. When you fail to amend your will following a divorce, and unless there is a provision within it that states otherwise, the will is treated as if the former spouse died upon divorce (wishful thinking, right?). As an alternative, the divorce or dissolution of marriage judgment can contain such language stating that the provisions in the will regarding the former spouse are valid, notwithstanding the divorce. Therefore, if you no longer want your former spouse to be the beneficiary of any portion of your estate, you need to check the language of your current will. If you get married following the execution of an estate plan, your spouse is entitled to an intestate share (in Florida, this is “per stirpes”) of your estate by statute, unless the new spouse waives the right, or the document itself provides otherwise (intent not to provide for new spouse, or provision providing for spouse in contemplation of marriage). Also, you may have had your former spouse designated as a Power of Attorney, or health-care surrogate. Thus, it is very important to ensure that your estate plan is consistent with your wishes following a divorce or marriage.

Children: if you have a new child following the creation of your estate plan, it is important to ensure that your new bundle of joy is provided for. You may want to set up a trust, a 529-college plan, alter beneficiary designations in your will, and nominate a legal guardian.

Estate Size Increase: You want to make certain that your estate plans are tailored to your estate size. Therefore, when your estate increases, you may want to make some changes in terms of tax and estate planning. Furthermore, if you have an estate plan that is set up to avoid probate, and acquire new property, you will want to assign that property to your living trust. You may want to consider a variety of estate planning strategies, anywhere from setting up an LLC to protect certain assets from lawsuits, to reducing the size of your estate for tax purposes.

So while all this talk of Miley’s evolution may be giving change a bad rap, remember that a change in your estate plan following new life events is always a good thing. 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

Florida based estate planning attorney Michael Wild is interviewed about the ins and outs of estate planning.

According to TMZ, 87 year old Dick Van Dyke’s Jaguar erupted into flames while driving in LA. Fortunately, he was pulled from the fire by a passing good-Samaritan. While the legendary actor’s car is now crispy ash on the side of the 101 freeway, he managed to escape the bizarre car explosion without any injuries.

Events such as these remind us that tragedy can strike without a moment’s notice, and it is important to always be prepared!  If you were involved in an accident, who would have the authority to make decisions on your behalf? Who can access your medical records? Have you designated a guardian for your children? Have you designated someone to make financial decisions for you in the event that you cannot? These are all questions, that when answered, can protect your family and assets when tragedy strikes.

Create a shield against the flames of tragedy with the following documents:

1. Living Trust – used to gain control over the who, when, and what of how your assets are distributed. A trust is a great way to protect your assets & preclude unnecessary taxes. You can designate yourself as a Trustee, while designating trustworthy successor Trustee’s to manage the trust when you are no longer able to do so.
2. Assignment of Property – place all of your property into the trust, and avoid costs, loss of privacy, & headache associated with probate. Probate is the process of validating your will; therefore, when all of your assets are distributed through the trust, there is nothing within the will to validate. As an alternative, you can merely assign property to the trust that you specifically want to preclude from probate, for the purposes of privacy.
3. Last Will & Testament – used to distribute property to beneficiaries (or a trust), specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.
4. Durable Power of Attorney – In the event that you become incapacitated, this document designates someone to step into your shoes and make financial decisions on your behalf. That person can only make decisions for your benefit, and not their own.
5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – Create a living will that states whether you would want life-prolonging medical treatment. Furthermore, the designation of a healthcare surrogate ensures that someone you trust is making medical decisions for you when you cannot. Otherwise, State statute will determine who can make those decisions for you.

Take a lesson from Dick Van Dyke and don’t get swallowed in the flames of disaster – plan ahead!

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

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.

E! News reports the a recent celebrity catastrophe, stating that British Airways scheduled both Angelina Jolie & Jennifer Aniston for the same flight from Los Angeles to London on Sunday. Shock! Horror! Although the airline managed to participate in some quick crisis mitigation, it begs the question: if the universe will allow Jolie & Jen to randomly schedule the same flight, what unexpected misfortune rests in the Gods of tomorrow?

If there is any moral to this story, it is to plan ahead. If you died tomorrow, or became incapacitated, would you have the following benefits?

• asset protection
• control over your assets
• protection for your loved ones
• preclusion of unnecessary taxes
• creditor protection
• limited/no transfer taxes for following generations

If the answer is no,  the following 5 documents will ensure that you are prepared for any unexpected misfortunes that may lay ahead!

1. Living Trust – gain control, asset protection, & preclusion of unnecessary taxes;  designated a trustworthy (no pun) Trustee.
2. Assignment of Property – place all of your property into the trust, and avoid costs & headache associated with probate.
3. Last Will & Testament – used to distribute property to beneficiaries (or a trust), specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.
4. Durable Power of Attorney – gain control by designating someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated.
5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – gain control by making important healthcare decisions for yourself in advance.

Learn from the misfortunes of these celebrities, and 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

South Florida Estate Planning Attorney, Michael Wild, shares horror stories of those who failed to plan ahead!

WELCOME to South Florida, where the month of August departs from “National Back-to-School Month” for the Florida-Foodies ! That’s right, Miami Spice is back, and the good folks of South Florida have the next month to consume the most succulent, scrumptious dishes that may weight heavy on the scales, but are light on the wallet.

But don’t stop there, South Florida! Incorporate the spirit of savings into your estate plans with these coin-purse preserving tips!

• Create a will, but avoid probate! – this can be done through the use of a pour-over will and living trust. A pour-over will takes all of the property that passes through the will, and funnels it into the trust. This property is then distributed to the trust beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of the trust. A pour-over will functions to ensure that all of the decedent’s property is transferred into trust. Think of it as a safety net that catches all of the assets that were not properly transferred into trust. All the contents of the net are then poured into the trust, ensuring that all of the property is ultimately distributed through the living trust.

The benefits of avoiding probate are twofold:

(1) safeguarding your loved one’s from the mental and emotional anguish of the probate process,  which can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years

(2) financial savings – you can expect to pay about three to seven percent of the total estate value in addition to court fees, personal representative fees, attorney’s fees, accounting fees, appraisal and business valuation fees, bond fees, and anything else that may come up along the way.

• Designate a durable power of attorney  – ensure that proper financial decisions are made in the event that you cannot! The designation of a durable power of attorney (“DPA”) functions as a transfer of the grantors power, in the event that he or she becomes incapacitated. Imagine the DPA to be a power-wielding hat, and you wear it to make your own financial and legal decisions. You can only transfer your hat to the individual (or sometimes entity) that you have designated as a power of attorney. A “durable” power of attorney means that the power hat is still effective even when you (the “principal”) are incapacitated. Remember, anyone who is sporting your power hat can only use such powers for your benefit, not their own.

• Virtual will – include your digital assets into your estate plan with instructions for their use for the following financial benefits:

1. Prevention of identity theft – if no one has knowledge or access to your accounts (bank accounts, trading accounts, credit card accounts, etc.), there is a higher probability that identity theft will go unnoticed.
2. Easy discovery of electronic bills and similar accounts, to avoid late fees & cancellations that will create losses for the estate.

Use August to plan for your taste-buds and your future with proper estate planning techniques that will preserve your piggy-bank! 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

Michael D. Wild, managing partner, offers highlights of matters relating to wills and trusts.

Alex Rodriguez, the highest paid player in major league baseball, has been suspended through the end of the 2014 season.  The MLB has banned 12 other players for violating MLB’s drug policy through their involvement with the South Florida anti-aging clinic, Biogenesis.  Three of the players included All-Stars: Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers, Everth Cabrera of the San Diego Padres, and Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers.

For Rodriguez (A-Rod) this would financially require him to forfeit his salaries from the remainder of this season and all of next.  From a legal perspective, the Constitution does not cover major league baseball; A-Rod’s agreement is governed by contract law.  Since the humbled player has decided to appeal his suspension, under the provisions of his collective bargaining agreement, A-rod can still play while he appeals.

Either way, Monday was a career-altering day everyone involved.  Hopefully the players’ financial future is not a complete wash out for lack of financial planning.  Florida residents, in order to stay on top of your financial game, utilize an estate planning attorney for successful asset protection and estate planning techniques.  A properly designed asset protection plan can help cover all your  financial bases:

• Last Will & Testament to distribute property and name guardians for minor children.
• Living Trust to gain control of assets and avoid unnecessary taxes during your lifetime.
• Protection of family savings and investments from lawsuits and claims.
• Protection against inadequate or unavailable insurance coverage.
• Insulation of rental properties reducing your exposure to potential lawsuits.
• Protection of business assets and accounts receivable from potential claims.
• Reduction of estate taxes.

Planning for the future with a proper estate plan can help defray life’s curveballs.  Contact our team of experienced South Florida attorneys for more information on Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques.  Call the law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at (954)-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation today.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

Everyone is buzzing about this weekend’s release of “The Wolverine,” starring Hugh Jackman.  Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday were around $55 million and $86.1 million internationally.

Did you know that in the Marvel Universe the Wolverine first manifested his superhero strength in his adolescent years while attempting to save his parents and their estate?  In the late 19th Century, Wolverine was born to wealthy landowners John and Elizabeth Howlett in Alberta, Canada.  Their groundskeeper was a violent alcoholic who, after being fired, invaded the Howlett estate and attempted to kidnap Wolverine’s mother.  It was at this moment that Wolverine mutated from a boy to a superhero.  His claws came out along with an unbridled ferocity to safeguard his family.

Although we live in Florida and not in the Marvel universe, most individuals can relate to this innate desire to protect our loved ones.  You can let our claws come out in a more subdued fashion by leaving behind a set of detailed instructions as to who can and cannot touch your estate.

Our team of loyal yet fierce South Florida estate planning attorneys can assist you in drafting a comprehensive estate plan comprised of a Living Trust, Last Will and Testament, Durable Power of Attorney, and a Designation of Healthcare Surrogate. This will allow you to ward off:

• unnecessary taxes
• costs and headache associated with the probate process
• creditors and outsiders who may have claims against you
• any undesignated individual making legal or healthcare decisions on your behalf in case you become incapacitated

Planning for the future with a proper estate plan can help secure your superhero legacy.  Contact our team of experienced South Florida attorneys for more information on Marvel-ous Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques.  Call the law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at (954)-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation today.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM