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/

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

What you need to know about Probate:

Probate is topic often disregarded until you have to find out the hard way. In fact most people believe that when they die, their spouse or children will automatically inherit their assets. In a perfect world of rainbows, unicorns and executor who knows exactly what to do, probate seems like a topic that could go under the radar.

While the Wild Felice & Partners of South Florida refrain from being the bearer of bad news, probate, if not handled proactively, can turn into your worst nightmare. Yes, even worse than the nightmare of you walking the hallways of your high school naked.  

Before we explain why you should avoid probate, let us explain what probate is.

What is Probate?

Probate is a court-supervised process for identifying and gathering the assets of a deceased person, paying the descendant’s debts, and distributing the descendant’s assets to his or her beneficiaries.

First, the descendant’s assets are used to pay the cost of the probate proceeding and then any outstanding debts. The remaining assets are distributed to the descendant’s beneficiaries.

Why should I care about Probate?

Whether you are young or old, sick or healthy, rich or poor, it is wise to avoid

probate. Why? Take the story of Mary…

Mary recently suffered the loss of her mother. Unfortunately, her mom did not have a living trust in place prior to her death. Mary and her siblings could undergo the following hassles:

• They will have to wait for the courts to settle their mother’s estate before they can take possession of her assets. This can take up to a year.
• The assets of your mother are now public, allowing anyone to see her financial standing. Now, Mary’s ex-brother-in-law is quite interested in obtaining some inheritance.
• Total strangers have access to her mother’s financial information, leaving Mary susceptible to being scammed for money.

Why would you wish to experience a legal battle while handling an emotional battle as well? Rather than grieving for her mother, Mary is spending all her time and her money to handle something that could have been avoided.

How to avoid probate?

It is important to create an estate plan that uses a trust to pass assets to the chosen beneficiaries. When you have a revocable living trust, you avoid probate and provide detailed instruction on how you wish to handle your assets in case of illness or death.

This is a very emotional and difficult time, we recommend making the transition seamless and effortless.

Avoid probate of your loved ones and contact Wild Felice & Partners of South Florida in Plantation to learn more.

HBO’s Game of Thrones has made quite the cultural impact, resonating with both fans and critics alike. Aside from a rabid fanbase (who are still crying over The Red Wedding), the show sat atop the Emmy throne this morning after earning 19 nominations, including Best Drama Series, Writing, and Direction. Westeros is a land of dueling kings, giants, and even dragons, but what it lacks is estate planning. Given the amount of characters who have died unexpectedly, an estate planning attorney could really have helped settle this game of thrones. (Spoilers to follow for the first 4 seasons.)

Robert Barratheon was too much of a drunk to ever do estate planning, and his deathbed attempt at a last will and testament wasn’t enough to get his wishes followed. If Robert had planned ahead better, he could have essentially made honorable Ned Stark the “trustee” of Joffrey, or if he knew how awful little Joffrey was, he could have devised the crown to his other son, Tommen. If Robert had used a trust, he could have passed his estate while avoiding probate. Probate in Westeros involves significantly more beheadings than Florida probate, but it is still a process you want to avoid if you can.

The cunning Lannisters always pay their debts and are the family that exercises estate planning tendencies. Patriarch Tywin Lannister is constantly figuring out how to protect the family’s riches through the generations. Whether through marriage or just taking it, Tywin is constantly concerned with his family’s lands and vast wealth. Through his Westerosi estate planning, he’s also able to keep his least favorite son Tyrion from inheriting part of his estate.

The family most in need of estate planning is the Starks, since they’re being wiped off the map at a rapid rate. Following Ned’s shocking beheading, the estate passed likely how Ned would have wanted, with his oldest son Robb taking control of almost everything. However, Robb quickly followed in his father’s footsteps, with who controls Winterfell up for grabs. Since Ned’s daughters are now the Starks in Winterfell, all the families are trying to marry them in hopes of controlling the North. If Nedd had just put his estate in a trust, he could control what happens to it across generations, keeping Sansa and Arya protected and making sure that their inheritance could not be affected by marriage or divorce. (Sorry Little Finger.)

But you don’t live in Westeros; you live in Florida, where the estate planning firm of Wild Feliz & Partners can help you be prepared for any situation. Whether it is creating a trust to protect your assets across generations or just having a will so that you and not the state controls what happens, our experienced attorneys will work with you to make estate planning a painless process and make sure you and your loved ones are protected. Because if Game of Thrones has taught us anything, you need to expect the unexpected.

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)

Yesterday, one day before the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling, we saw more steps toward marriage equality, with judges in both Indiana and Utah ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. A federal judge found Indiana’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional, while a federal court of appeals in Utah upheld a previous ruling that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. While both of these rulings represent a continued trend toward marriage equality (all federal district courts have ruled the same way on the subject) and are cause to celebrate, Florida still does not recognize same-sex marriage. This stance makes it of particular importance for same-sex couples to prepare and create a comprehensive estate plan to make sure that their partners are taken care of and afforded all the possible rights under the law.

The estate of any resident who dies in the state without a last will and testament will be distributed according to Florida intestacy laws. While this is never the ideal way to distribute estate property, it is particularly troublesome for same-sex couples. Florida law says that the estate goes first to the surviving spouse. Since Florida does not recognize same-sex marriage, the estate would go to family members instead of your partner. Having a will can assure that your assets go to your partner as you say, rather than to who the state says.

A trust based estate plan is always a favorable option, given its control flexibility, creditor protection, and ability to avoid probate. Trusts may be even more important to same sex couples in that they are private documents and they do not have to go in front of a judge (given the state’s stance on same-sex issues, avoiding the court as much as possible is ideal.) Not only does a trust based estate plan assure that your partner receives his portion of your estate just as with a will, it gives you more control over who gets your assets than just the first disposition. With a trust, you can give everything to your partner, and then control where it goes after that. Sadly, we’ve seen cases where family has not been accepting of the relationship. With a trust, you can make sure that instead of your assets going to a relative you are not close with, it can go to close friends, other family, or even the charity of your choice. A trust will also make sure that the assets your beneficiaries receive are protected from creditors.

Another pressing issue for same-sex estate planning in Florida is guardianship. Since 2010, same-sex couples are now able to adopt children in Florida. All couples in the state with minor children should designate in their will or in a guardianship form filed with the state who the child’s guardian should be. Absent a guardian designation, the courts would determine who the child’s guardian will be. Don’t leave such an important decision up to anyone but you and your partner; make sure your estate plan names a guardian if you have a minor child.

Finally, you should be sure to designate a healthcare surrogate and power of attorney to make medical and financial decisions for you in the event of incapacitation. To assure that your medical surrogate can make the most informed decisions regarding your health, you should also sign a HIPAA release form that allows your partner (or whoever your surrogate is) to see your medical records.

As more and more states recognize same sex marriage, we hope that Florida soon follows suit. Until then, make sure that you have a proper estate plan in place from a firm that works with same-sex planning.

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

Spain, the winner’s of the last world cup, saw their dreams of repeating the feat die on Wednesday with a 2-0 loss to Chile. With their second consecutive loss they have been mathematically eliminated from the tournament; the defending champions weren’t even able to make it to the knockout rounds/playoffs.

We will all eventually suffer the same fate, no one makes it through life alive and there will always be an end. When that end does come it is likely that all of the material things that survived you will have to go through a process in Florida known as probate. This process can be stressful, complicated, and an overall burden on your loved ones. Probate is the process by which the court system determines a personal representative which is then responsible for distributing the assets of the estate. Personal Representatives are put in charge of paying any taxes on the estate, paying creditors, and paying the beneficiaries.

Let us handle all the stress associated with probate and guide you through the delicate process of probating your loved one’s estate. Our attorney’s experience in these matters will give you the peace of mind you need and deserve.

Find the right attorney to manage and avoid the pitfalls and problems associated with probate! 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