As summer wedding season kicks into full swing, now is the perfect time to look at how your estate plan affects your spouse. Whether you’re about to get married, are just married, have been married for years, or are (hopefully not) recently or in the process of a divorce, proper estate planning is a necessity in your life. So before you tie the knot under the South Florida sun, take a moment to look ahead and think what would happen to your spouse

If you die without a will, Florida intestacy laws dictate that the surviving spouse gets at least one half, and up to the full estate, depending on whether there are kids from prior marriages. This is good news if you are unfortunate enough to pass away without an estate plan while happily married; it is considerably worse news if you pass away while in the process of a divorce. What happens if you pass away en route to the wedding and you have not updated your estate plan? Your significant other may have been only thirty minutes away from being your spouse, but would get nothing from your estate in the eyes of the law. Timing and continuing to update your estate plan are crucial when dealing with the issue of marriage.

A will can be used to make sure that your spouse is taken care of by your estate, but a trust will give you more control over the distribution of your assets after you’re gone. For example, you leave everything to your spouse in your will. However, she remarries years later and dies without an estate plan. Depending on the child situation, the new spouse may inherit all of what was once your money. A trust can be used to make sure your spouse is provided for during his or her life, while making sure that your assets stay in your family after the spouse passes away.

In addition to protecting your assets, other estate planning should be done to prepare for different marriage situations. Such planning includes purchasing life insurance to deal with tax and liquidity issues, a power of attorney and designating a healthcare surrogate to make important decisions should you become incapacitated, and a HIPAA release so that your spouse can view medical records should the need arise. Furthermore, you should check the beneficiary forms on any retirement accounts and make sure they are all up to date; the beneficiary form will trump a counter-statement in a will or trust.

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

Mother’s day, some say it’s the best day of the year to show our mothers how much we love them, others say everyday should be mother’s day, Hallmark calls it a payday. Regardless of your feelings on the “Holiday” don’t we all feel the need to take care of those who took care of us? So for this mother’s day get the one you love a gift that will last forever and more. Estate planning offers methods to protect yourself and those you love for the long term

1.   Living Trust – the best way to maintain control over all of your assets and distributions, while avoiding the hassle, expense, and lack of privacy associated with probate.

 2.  Assignment of Trust – this is exactly that, assigning your property to your trust. In other words, placing your property into the trust. This includes both real & personal property. A trust does not do anything for you if there is no property in it.

 3.  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.

 4.  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.

 5.  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.

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

If the bloody water, locusts, pesky frogs, and blackout darkness had failed to convince Pharaoh that it was time to release the Israelite slaves, we are pretty sure the 11th plague, probate, would have had Pharaoh hosting a go-away party with swag bags full of matzo.

Probate is the process of administering an estate, and validating a will. Sounds harmless? Well, it has many features in which you may recall from Exodus 12:

1. Water into blood – probate can take a perfectly simple distribution of assets, and transform it into a substance that renders the estate worthless; as months of attorney and court fees drain the estate of its resources.
2. Frogs – you thought frogs were pesky little creatures? They’ve got nothing on the claims of contesting beneficiaries and third parties. The process of probate provides a broad opportunity for creditors and other third parties to claim an interest in the decedent’s property. This prolongs the process, and increases the costs of administration.
3. Lice – You can’t quite see them, but each itch is a constant reminder that they are there, and you’ve got to scratch. This is much like probate procedures. From one moment to the next, you are having to deal with a different notice (scratch), filing (scratch), hearing (scratch), etc. (scratch, scratch, itch, itch).
4. Flies – A day of swarming flies is much like a year of probate; at the end of it, you are so bitten up and exhausted with swatting, that even when it stops, you have a long recovery period to look forward to.
5. Dying Livestock – you’ve got valuable livestock keeling over left and right, just like you would have estate assets dropping in value during the probate period. Through this administrative process, that cash cow might not be managed correctly. If you had, however, put it in a trust, with a trustee managing it, you would cashing in – not dropping out.
6. Boils – we know a couple of things about boils: (1) painful, & (2) ugly. Yes, that pretty much sums up probate.
7. Storms of Fire – Hail and fire destroys everything in its path.  A couple years of dealing with the stress of determining the appropriate distribution between family members has the same effect, often leaving family dynamics in a heavily damaged state of affairs.
8. Locusts – Pharaoh tried to negotiate when it came to the 8th plague, saying that all of the men could leave, but not the women and children. We know that did not work out so well for foolish-Pharaoh. This big-fat-fail is a common feature of negotiations regarding property distributions during probate administration.
9. Darkness – probate effectively prolongs the time that families have deal with the darkness associated with the loss of a loved one, as it can last for years, and serve as a daily stressor to grieving family members.
10. Death of First-Born – before this final plague, God instructed Moses to mark lamb’s blood over the doorposts as a protection from the “smite” of the plague. A trust based estate plan is much like this protecting method that spared the people from the “destroyer.” Such a plan incorporates a pour-over will and trust into your estate plan.  A will coupled with a trust effectively bypasses probate. The pour-over will takes all of the property that passes through the will, and funnels it into the trust. The property is then distributed to the trust beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of the trust.  This effectively removes all of the property from the Last Will & Testament, thereby leaving nothing to be administered through probate.

In the spirit of passover, don’t be a foolish-Pharoah; plan ahead, and avoid 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

The lucky Power Ball winner claimed his prize on April Fool’s day however his price of $425 Million was no joke. Apparently the idea of being a millionaire has not affected his judgment, he kept his big win a secret until he had his financial and legal plan in place. Now that he has come forward to claim his prize it is important for him that his identity remains a secret from the public.

But why should we all wait for a strike of luck to plan ahead? There are plans you can set in place to ensure that you maintain control in the event of life’s unexpected surprises. An estate plan can give you piece of mind even if you can’t predict when your lucky stars will align in your favor. Whether your priorities are privacy or protection of your loved ones, with the right attorney you can ensure that your plans live on.

By utilizing estate-planning techniques, you can protect yourself and your family from unnecessary hassles, while safeguarding your current  assets and any other asset your lucky stars  brings your way.

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.

If your sickness mitigation plan is packaged in one little pill that claims to enrich your body with not one, but “multi” vitamins,” the newly-published editorial in Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that a reevaluation is in order. The piece says that “taking supplements offers no benefit when it comes to preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer or a second heart attack.” However, those in the study lived healthier lifestyles than the average American, because most Americans don’t have a healthy diet, and therefore, don’t get the vitamins and minerals they need. Thus, if you are dealing with a vitamin C deficiency, you can guzzle some OJ, or pop your multivitamin; nevertheless, you will need a back up plan to mitigate your health risks. Furthermore, until your packaged-plan includes a mortality pill, you will also need to prepare for health related events that extend beyond the common vitamin deficiency. The following documents will ensure that you maintain control of your assets during sickness, incapacity, and death (aka, the life-deficiency).

When dealing with sickness, you will want to have a Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate in place – 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. In the event of incapacitation, you will also want to have a document drafted that names a Durable Power of Attorney who can step in your shoes and legally act on your behalf. In terms of after-life planning, you want to make sure that your loved ones are protected, and your assets are distributed according to your wishes. This will require the following:

• Living Trust – a living trust has become increasingly desirable due to its ability to avoid probate (the legal process of determining whether a will is valid). If you are married, you may want to designate yourself and your spouse as co-trustees, so that you have full control over the property while you are still alive. Side Note: such control does have tax consequences, so you will want to discuss this with your estate planning attorney.
• Assignment of Property – this is exactly that, assigning your property to your trust. In other words, placing your property into the trust. This includes both real & personal property. A trust does not do anything for you if there is no property in it.
•  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.

Don’t let a little deficiency stand in your way – 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

Even though 51% of American’s (according to a recent CBS/NYT survey) disapprove of the Affordable Care Act, it is “here to stay,” according to President Obama. The President states that in “[f]ive days from now, on Oct. 1, millions of Americans who don’t have health insurance because they’ve been priced out of the market…will finally be able to buy [it].”

While President Obama has made efforts to “protect” you in regards to health insurance, you should start making your own plans to properly protect your life insurance. For many, especially young people who have yet to build up their assets, a Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (“ILIT”) can be very beneficial. For parents, you can ensure that you are providing for your your children, by having your life insurance policy go into a trust, which incorporates your intent regarding when and how your children receive the money following your death. Furthermore, many people don’t realize that the proceeds of life insurance are included in the gross estate of the “owner” upon death (possibly using up a lot of your transfer tax exemption). Using an ILIT removes the “incidents of ownership” over the proceeds, and therefore your estate does not have to pay transfer taxes on it. Additionally, when the ILIT is set up for the benefit of your spouse to then pass to your children; the proceeds will not be included in your spouse’s gross estate when he/her dies. You can also set up the ILIT to a Dynasty Trust or Generation Skipping Trust, for the continued benefit of future generations.

So while the POTUS is ensuring you get your health insurance, be sure to obtain the following benefits with an ILIT:

• avoid estate tax of proceeds
• shelter property from creditors at death
• provide income and support for beneficiares
• meet the liquidity needs of the Grantor’s estate

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?