Yes.  Whether you have a will or not, every estate must be probated.  Estates that are under $75,000 in total asset value may be probated through a summary administration which is faster and cheaper than a full administration.  Estates that are above $75,000 in total asset value must go through a full administration which can cost between 3 and 10 percent of the entire estate and take a minimum of one year prior to distribution.  The use of a living trust to own and manage assets during your life can reduce the size of your estate to the point of qualifying for a summary administration.  Any assets left outside of the trust must be probated or they cannot be distributed.  I get many referrals from people attempting to sell their deceased parents’ homes only to be told by the closing agent that the title isn’t clear and that the home needs to be probated in order to be able to sell it.  The longer you wait to probate an estate, the more costly it can become.  There are a number of pitfalls to watch out for and it is absolutely imperative to hire a probate attorney as soon as a loved one dies.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Pardo, 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?

Over 70 percent of all Americans have no estate planning documents whatsoever. Of the 30 percent that do, most have only basic documents like a Last Will and Testament, with no regard to probate avoidance, estate tax reduction or asset protection. Of those people that do incorporate a Revocable Living Trust into their foundational estate plan, over 90 percent will leave the trust underfunded or unfunded at death, causing the unnecessary loss of assets and unnecessary delay of distribution. Some basic estate planning upkeep could alleviate all of these concerns.

Your estate plan should be reviewed with an attorney at least once every 3 to 5 years. I review my clients’ estate plans each year to determine if any changes need to be made due to a change in tax law (as happened in 2010), legal drafting requirements (as happened in 2005) or the Probate Code (as happens most years). However, the more pressing changes almost always occur on the personal side of the equation.

Over the course of every 5 year period, most families will see a birth, a death, a marriage or a divorce and this event could cause the need for an amendment to the estate plans of the individual members of that family. Additionally, the beneficiaries might be at different ages or competency levels and the Trustees, Personal Representatives and Guardians might be in different stages in life, areas of the country or financial levels than they were when you originally drafted your plan, which would cause the immediate need to revise and choose new role players.

Another consideration is the age of your attorney. Your estate planning attorney needs to be able to walk your children or other beneficiaries through the administration process. Is your attorney still alive? Is he still practicing? Will he still be practicing when you die? Does he practice in the state in which you currently live?

Any estate planning attorney should give you a free consultation for the review of your estate plan. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A simple review and possible amendment to your estate plan today will save your family large amounts of money and time after you are gone. For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Pardo, 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?

Today is the start of the baseball season and as the boys of summer get ready to take the diamond, we are reminded that it is springtime once again.  Spring is a time of rebirth and a great opportunity to adjust your estate plan to add those family members that have been born since you had it drafted.  If you don’t have an estate plan, now is a great time to have one constructed in order to protect those that you care about.  While the bats hit the balls, your pen should be hitting the paper as you should be signing you living trust and assuring that all of the people that you care about are protected long after you are gone. 

Play ball!  Call us for your free consultation.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Pardo, 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?

Even if you were born a ramblin’ man or woman (or just happen to be a snowbird), you may have the ability to claim Florida as your state of domicile and there are many advantages to make such a claim. 

Unlike Florida, many states charge taxes on the estates of the people that have established that state as their domicile.   Florida has neither state income tax nor any state inheritance tax.  While most states tack on an addition ten (10) to fifteen (15) percent to the Federal Estate Tax, Florida permits you to die in peace knowing that your family is protected from unnecessary state taxation.  In fact, Florida even permits you some tax credits, including the Federal Estate Tax credit and the Homestead exemption which permits a property tax credit on your personal residence. 

So how can you establish domicile in Florida if you live somewhere else?

Contrary to popular belief, there is no six-months-and-a-day rule for claiming Florida as your domicile.  Domicile in Florida is defined as establishing a place of adobe, coupled with the intent to permanently remain in the state of Florida.  Although intent can be measured by a show of sentiments, courts will usually focus on the contacts an individual has with the state in order to establish domicile.  This means that you might be eligible to call Florida your home even if you were born in the backseat of a Greyhound Bus rollin’ down Highway 41.

One such example of establishing this intent is the drafting of Florida estate plans and the purchasing of Florida burial plots. No evidence establishing the intent to permanently remain in the state of Florida is stronger than the intent to make it your final resting place.  Courts have agreed that this may be enough to establish your Florida domicile for the purpose of avoiding the state estate tax.

Since Florida is a tax-friendly state, those with sufficient contacts with the state of Florida are highly advised to take the necessary steps to establish Florida as their domicile. However, it is highly advisable that you speak with your attorney to determine if domicile in Florida is beneficial in your particular situation. Each client has unique needs that need to be carefully discussed with their attorney before any decisions are taken.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Pardo, 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?

February is a month of only 28 days but it is still chock full of fun holidays that all seem to have something to do with estate planning. What you don’t know about estate planning might not kill you but it will hurt your family when something else does, so here are some fun estate planning facts for your clients, with a February theme.

Groundhog Day – Did you know that without a correctly executed Living Will, any South Florida hospital must keep the patient alive artificially, no matter what their true wishes are and no matter how much money it costs the patient’s family? Perpetual artificial life in persistent vegetative state is the epitome of living the same day over and over again, without any of the charm and comedy of Bill Murray. While most people think of distribution of assets and tax savings when they think of estate planning, getting a correctly executed Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney, and Designation of Health Care Surrogate can sometimes be even more important.

Mardi Gras – The colors of Mardi Gras symbolize Faith, Power, and Justice. If you have faith in the power of the justice system to see to it that your assets are distributed fairly upon your death, you have probably had one too many Hurricanes. Without a Living Trust to distribute your assets, your wishes will be subject to the whims of a probate judge or the Florida Statutes. For smaller estates with no “family nuances,” this may not pose a huge problem. However, for any estate over $75,000 or belonging to any member of a “nuclear family” (i.e. divorced parents, adopted children, unfavorable in-laws, children from prior marriages, etc.), a full probate administration could prove to be financially devastating to the family left behind. The easiest way to avoid probate completely is to distribute assets through a living trust.

Valentine’s Day – Estate planning isn’t about you; it’s about protecting those you love after you are gone. We pay for health insurance for our children because they might get sick. We pay for car insurance for our spouses because they might get into an accident. We save money in a pre-paid college plan in case our children need help paying for school. We plan for “what if’s” on a daily basis yet we constantly avoid the planning necessary for after we die. While our children may get sick, our spouses may get into a car accident, and we may need financial assistance for college, there is only one certainty. The death rate in South Florida is 100 percent. As for that other so-called certainty, while we can’t keep you alive forever, we can help to eliminate any tax burden your family might have to shoulder after you are gone.

February is a very short month so you had better get moving quickly and get your estate plan in place before it’s too late. For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Pardo, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation. Let us protect what you value most.

This afternoon, I will be the guest speaker at Valic’s monthly meeting of life insurance and financial advising professionals. The purpose of this blog post is not to invite everyone to attend but rather to inform my readers as to the topics I will be covering.

As we begin 2011, there is much uncertainty in the areas of both estate planning and asset protection. For much of 2010, we expected 2011 to greet us with a 55 percent estate tax on all assets over $1 million. Toward the end of 2010, President Obama gave in to Republican demands of a reprieve on this exorbitantly high death tax and agreed to reduce the estate tax for 2011 and 2012 to 35 percent, with a $5 million exemption amount. If you plan on dying in the next two years, you may be relieved. However, if you plan on living well past 2012, uncertainty still remains. As of today, the estate tax rate for 2013 will revert to 55 percent, with only a $1 million exemption amount. We will hope for the best but must plan for the worst, which is why we recommend that our clients set up Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts for all life insurance policies over $250,000 and Bypass trusts for all marital estates over $2 million. As the estate laws change, we will continue to update you so that you may better serve your clients and protect yourself and your family.

The world of asset protection was turned slightly on its head as well in 2010. On June 24, 2010, the Florida Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in the case of Shaun Olmstead, et al., v. The Federal Trade Commission and raised the question as to whether Florida limited liability companies (LLCs) will continue to have charging order protection. A charging order is a remedy that a creditor of a member in an LLC can receive from a court that instructs the entity to give the creditor any distributions that would otherwise be paid to the partner or member from the entity. Generally, a creditor who receives a charging order with respect to a member’s interest in the entity does not have any authority to mandate distributions from the entity or to participate in the management and affairs of the entity, nor are they able to access the assets of the company.

Charging orders are governed by state law, and in many states, a charging order is the exclusive remedy for a creditor with respect to a debtor’s LLC membership. However, the Olmstead ruling allowed the creditor to “pierce the corporate veil” of the LLC and access the actual assets of the LLC. While the LLC at issue in Olmstead was a single-member LLC, many attorneys are concerned about the slippery slope that would allow the piercing of multiple-member LLC’s as well. It is definitely something that we will keep an eye on in the coming months.

If you have any questions about anything above, or anything regarding estate planning, asset protection, or probate in general, please feel free to contact me directly at 954-944-2855 or via email at mwild@wfplaw.com. It’s a Wild world! Are you protected?