This holiday weekend many South Floridians will be getting together with family members to celebrate Easter and Passover 2012. Organizing family gatherings, preparing lavish meals, and participating in special songs and customs will be the focus of attention. Children in particular will be anticipating customary gifts.

If you’re struggling in preparing the perfect Easter basket for your little ones, here’s something to consider. There is nothing sweeter than the types of gifts that come from thoughtfully planning your South Florida estate plan.  For example, your will and living trusts are ideal vehicles in properly transferring assets to your children. Not even chocolate bunnies or candied eggs can compete with that.

There is so much to consider in such legacy planning that only a highly experienced and knowledgeable South Florida estate planning attorney can effectively guide you through this complex process. You might have family-owned businesses, retirement plans, and a life insurance policy. What about asset protection from creditor claims, special needs planning, trust administration, Florida probate and financial planning? You are not alone. Help is just a phone call away.

However, once you set up your solid estate plan, assets must be titled into trusts and periodically updated to reflect life changes such as marriage, birth of a new child, or divorce. If you already have one in place but neglected it for a few years, then it is time to resurrect your estate plan and review it with your attorney to account for all necessary changes, both personal and legal.

The best part is that estate planning is kosher and chametz-free. Sitting at the Seder table with the knowledge that you have provided for the future financial needs of you loved ones and ensured that your assets are ultimately distributed as you intend is a satisfying and rewarding feeling. After all, you never know when you will be having that Last Supper with your family. 

Time is never on our side so taking immediate action is a key ingredient to estate planning. Contacting your estate planning attorney not only gives you a peace of mind but also can reduce estate taxes for your family thus leaving them more and less to Uncle Sam.

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?

Bruce Willis, 57, and his wife Emma Heming, 33 welcomed their new baby girl this weekend after being married for three years. Mabel Ray Willis is the Bruce’ s fourth child and Emma’s first. Willis has three more daughters from his 13-year marriage to first wife Demi Moore.

Willis has experienced substantial life changes that he should account for in his estate planning.  After all, one day he might just “Die Hard.” Protecting his new wife and baby should be high on his priority list.

With Willis’s divorce from Demi Moore in 2000, new marriage to Emma Heming in 2009, and the recent birth of his new baby, Bruce should consider updating his estate plan if he has not already done so.

Following the dissolution of marriage, it is easy to neglect one’s estate plan especially amid emotional and economic fallout during property division, child custody, and spousal support.

Bruce should begin his estate plan modifications by revising his will. He should reconsider his asset distribution and personal representative appointment. He should include Mabel Ray in his will otherwise he could unintentionally disinherit her. He can rewrite the terms of his will or execute a special addendum called a “codicil.”

If his estate is more trust–based, he should review the terms of any trusts established before or during his marriage to determine what changes will be necessary in order to include Emma and baby Mabel. He might want to add them as beneficiaries of his estate. He might want to exclude Demi from his life insurance and make sure the new women in his life will be the recipients of his death benefits.

Updating your estate plan is crucial especially after major changes in life such as divorce, marriage, and birth of a new child. It is of vital importance to take prompt, proactive measures and visit your South Florida estate planning attorney to ensure your intentions are fully carried out in the disposition of your assets.

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 guy walks into a bar with a new boost of confidence. He just found out that his 80-year-old father would be passing away in a few months leaving him a princely inheritance. He looks around the room and locks eyes with a stunning blue-eyed blonde. He knows he doesn’t stand a chance. However, he musters up some courage, walks right up to her, and says, “I may not look like much now, but soon my father will pass away and I will become a millionaire. Can I take you to dinner tonight?” Impressed, the woman agrees. Two weeks later, she becomes his stepmother.

Clearly, women are much better at estate planning than men!

Happy April Fools’ Day!

On a more sobering note, estate planning is no joke. Death is an equal opportunity taker. It does not discriminate based on sex, age, race, or wealth. One day we will all die. However, when that day will come we don’t know. However, we are all armed with the foresight to plan ahead and obviate disastrous consequences by getting our estate plans set in place. This way, we can be sure our family is well protected and taken care of after we join the ranks of the dearly departed.

The law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. is dedicated in providing valued knowledge and trusted experience of a large law firm but with a client focused approach and protective instinct only a small firm can offer. With expertise and compassion, we focus on the dynamic relationship between our clients and their families.

Early estate planning can save family members from overwhelming stress and emotional ordeal. It can also save loved ones hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why subject them to heavy and unnecessary burdens when they will be consumed with mourning and coping with the reality of your loss? Invest in their future by calling our South Florida estate planning firm today.

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?

With the brand new ipad’s high-resolution top retina display and improved graphics hardware, no wonder sales are astronomically rising. Everyone just has to have the new ipad. Steve Jobs is probably beaming from the grave.

There is something else Jobs is probably smiling at- his estate plan. The Apple co-founder was not only a brilliant innovator and businessman but he was brilliant in employing estate-planning attorneys to guide him in how best to protect his estimated $7 billion fortune.  He took advantage of techniques and strategies to ensure his family would be well provided for in the event of his death. We all know Jobs was a very private man. That’s why he chose to establish trusts such as living trusts, charitable trusts, and marital trusts to preserve his assets, protect his family, and minimize estate taxes. Unlike wills, a trust is the ideal vehicle in ensuring the privacy of one’s assets. Wills must pass through probate court, which opens the estate, and become public record. However, a trust avoids probate only for assets put into the trust.

The key to correctly using a trust is to fund it with assets. In 2009, both he and his wife transferred three real estate properties into two different trusts.  Jobs was also the largest single shareholder of Disney and it’s purported that he received millions of dollars in dividends since 2006. He most likely made the wise decision to fund the stocks into a living trust as well.

If he had not engaged in proper estate planning, Jobs would have subjected his loved ones to the burden of paying more than $2 billion in estate tax! He played it smart and got his estate plan in place. You can do the same in South Florida.

To know one’s family is well protected is definitely something worth smiling about from the other side.

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?

Kim Kardashian just can’t get out of the spotlight these days. She recently got flour bombed on the red carpet at her fragrance launch, which came as a shock to all onlookers. It probably had something to do with an angry PETA activist. Another bomb Kardashian took not too long ago concerned her very short marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries that lasted only 72 days. To avoid a third bomb, she should consider estate planning if she has not already done so.

Even short marriages necessitate updating wills and other estate planning documents.

When a major event in life happens, such as a marriage or birth of a child, then a will should be updated to reflect the intentions of the decedent in how assets should be distributed. For example, if you do not want to give any assets to your new spouse or a new child, then the will should be updated to explicitly state this.

Kardashian’s divorce is yet another major life event making it crucial to update estate planning documents. People usually do not want their ex-spouse to inherit anything. Even if Kim married Kris for publicity, she might marry again and decide Kris should get nothing. Taking the time to update her will would save an immense amount of confusion and litigation if she were to die. Ideally, a will should be updated before a divorce is finalized. Why you ask? Consider this. If a spouse passes away during divorce many states will treat that person as still married and allow the ex-spouse-to-be, to inherit a portion of the estate even if the spouse is not mentioned in the will.

When your life changes, it’s important to keep your estate plan up to date to reflect these important changes or you might just get doused in a powder of probate mess.

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?

So, everyone’s familiar with Kristen Stewart’s new popular movie Snow White and the Huntsman. Like the bloodthirsty queen in her hunt for eternal power, proper estate planning documents can provide you with the best asset protection so you can have power and control from the grave or… glass coffin . Like the queen who seeks Snow White’s heart in order to remain the fairest of them all, there are four key documents that lie at the heart of estate planning.

1. Last Will and Testament– this legal document sets forth how and to whom your assets will be distributed. It sets forth who the appointed personal representative of your estate is, and if you have minor children, who will be their guardians. Without a properly executed Will, your assets may pass through Florida’s laws of intestacy.

2. Durable Power of Attorney– this critical document allows you to nominate a person who will have power to make all non-medical decisions for you in the event you become incapacitated. For example, they can pay your bills, manage your bank accounts, and run your business.

3. Designation of Health Care Surrogate– this document allows you to designate someone to make medical decisions for you in the event you become incapacitated. If you do not designate someone, the court might appoint someone to make the decisions for you. The courts’ choice might be against your wishes and extremely costly.

4. Living Will– This relates to “end of life” decisions. In the event you are in an “end stage condition” or a permanent vegetative state, you can include instructions that let your loved ones and caregivers know whether or not you wish to be kept artificially alive by machines.

Create your fairytale estate plan today by including all these critical documents. It’s a good feeling to know that with a solid estate plan in place you will have your family members well protected. Then, when it is your time to look into the magic mirror of death, you can be sure that you are the fairest of them all.

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?