With Father’s day around the corner many will celebrate this Sunday by spending the day with dad, others may not be so fortunate. Whenever a loved one passes with or without leaving behind a will, the family must go through a process called probate. Probate is the process by which Florida courts oversee the distribution of the estate’s assets, such as any property, savings or bank accounts, investment accounts, and even valuable personal property such as cars or jewelry.

The probate process begins by appointing a personal representative who would be in charge of distributing the assets of the estate; personal representatives are often named in wills, if there is no will then the personal representative must be elected by all interested parties. After the personal representative has been chosen the court will then issue Letters of Administration, empowering the personal representative to begin distributing the assets of the estate.

Under Florida law if the value of the estate exceeds $75,000 then the state requires an attorney be retained in order to represent the estate and the personal representative in order to avoid any fraudulent or erroneous administration of the estate.

For more information on the Florida probate process, 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

On Saturday, America watched as 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome came up a head short of winning the Belmont States and becoming the first horse to capture the Triple Crown since 1978. Although California Chrome was a heavy favorite heading into the race, a foot injury suffered coming out of the gate quickly derailed the horse’s chances of a victory. While not many of us here in Florida will have a horse vying for the Triple Crown in our lifetimes, California Chrome can teach us a valuable lesson: our best-laid plans can change in an instant. Don’t be unprepared in case something goes wrong in the race of life.

An unexpected injury like the one California Chrome suffered could lead to far worse consequences than simply not winning a competition. If you are injured or incapacitated in Florida without having a durable power of attorney, your family may be unable to make all the important decisions or sign necessary documents. Without the designation of a healthcare surrogate and a living will, you may find yourself receiving care that goes against your wishes.

In the worst-case scenario of a death, proper estate planning is even more important. If you die without a correctly executed estate plan in place, Florida law will determine how your property is distributed, regardless of your desires. By using a living trust to distribute the assets, not only will you have complete discretion over who gets what, you will be able to avoid probate, making for a smoother transition for your loved ones during this tough time in their lives. Of course, if you are going to use a living trust, don’t forget to assign property to it (otherwise, it won’t do you any good.) We can never know what obstacles we will encounter along the way, but with preparation and proper estate planning, you can rest easier knowing you won’t come up just short at the end of the race.

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

As Hurricane Season beings this Sunday, June 1st, it would be wise to ensure that you are prepared for yet another potentially dangerous hurricane season. While many will gather materials and check their safety plans whenever hurricane season rolls around, few check their estate plans and prepare for their legal and financial futures. In fact many have done no planning at all and risk losing everything they have earned working so hard for over the years. Make sure your estate plans are set and you are prepared TODAY for anything that may happen tomorrow.

You can take full advantage of an estate plan which includes a Living Trust, Will, Durable Power of Attorney, and the Designation of a Healthcare surrogate. All of these estate planning tools will protect you and your family virtually indefinitely by ensuring that should anything happen to you all the plans will be in place. You could even take advantage of avoiding probate with the creation of a trust, potentially saving you and your loved ones thousands of dollars.

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.

The Pacers can talk the talk, but on game four they showed they couldn’t walk the walk. In game four, the Heat proved that is all about being prepared when it really counts and now, they are going to Indianapolis to finish up the series.

Being prepared and able to “put your money where your mouth is” is as important in sports, as it is in our every day life.  You have the power to take charge of your matters and most importantly, planning your estate. Just like the Heat cannot predict when they will win, we cannot predict or control when we are going to die. However, we can put our game face on plan ahead.  Do not let your fate be in the hands of someone else; you should be actively planning ahead to take charge of your future.

In South Florida, if you die without a will all of your assets will be automatically distributed “per stirpes.” The danger in this is that you lose all control over who will receive your estate, and your intentions become irrelevant. The statutory scheme may leave out groups of loved ones, such as stepchildren; and does not protect beneficiaries that are not mature enough to deal with a large inheritance. Such issues are unlimited, but can be avoided through proper estate planning.

By utilizing estate planning techniques, you can protect yourself and your family from unnecessary hassles while safeguarding your assets. Through a variety of estate planning tools, including Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Surrogates, Funding Techniques, and more; you can make your “safe” burglar proof!

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and business succession planning, 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

From the beloved Nelson Mandela all the way to Hitlers bodyguard, this year has waived farewell to a long list of notable deaths. As this year takes its exit, let’s look back on some of those who took their final bow in 2013:

• Charles Foley, age 82 – an inventor most well known for Patent No. 3,454,279, aka “Twister,” the innocent game of compromising positions.
• Bruce Reynolds, age 81 – the criminal who was the mastermind behind the 1963 “Great Train Robbery,” which was Britain’s largest robbery at the time (about 41 million pounds). He successfully ran for 5 years, until he was caught to serve a 25 year sentence term. Ironically enough, following his release, Reynolds lived off of income support in a London flat supplied by a charitable trust.
• Deacon Jones, age 74 – the defensive end in the NFL., best known for coining the term “sack,” as in “sacking the quarterback.” A maneuver in which he excelled.
• Chris Kelly, age 34 – the rapper of the ’90s kid rap duo Kris Kross. Kelly was known as Mac Daddy, and best known for the megahit “Jump.”
• Rochus Misch, age 96 – also known as Hitler’s bodyguard. Although he persistently denied having any knowledge of the millions of deaths caused by the Nazis,  he was reportedly “the most unrepentant and unapologetic Hitler supporter you could ever have the misfortune to meet.”
•  Sylvia Browne, age 77 – click here.
• Nelson Mandela, age 95 –  a inspiration to millions who sought to end the oppression of more than four decades of institutionalized racial segregation. After being imprisoned as a terrorist for 27 years by a white-minority government, he united his African nation to its first multiracial democracy. He served as the country’s first black president, becoming a national emblem of racial reconciliation throughout the world.

The best take away from this year, as demonstrated by the preceding names, is to plan ahead for the unknown. You never know when your exit will take place, all you can do is have the following documents in your estate plan:

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 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.

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

Recent polls reveal that “It’s a Wonderful Life” has been voted the Christmas film of all time. The classic film took the number one spot over other Christmas favorites, including Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone, and the Muppet Christmas Carol.

Although we can all agree that It’s a Wonderful Life, most of us are not prepared for it to end! The “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas” salutations are rarely accompanied with the declaration that “we are all going to die;” we thought we would steal the Grinch’s moment, and be the bearers of bad news. If you have lost a loved one that failed to put a probate-avoiding-estate plan into place, you will be dealing with a mighty gruesome process. However, with the right attorney (and maybe a little holiday eggnog), the stress associated with probate can be significantly reduced.

Probate is the process of validating and distributing the decedent’s assets. This includes a variety of payments that the personal representative will be responsible for distributing, including those to creditors, the court fees, taxes and administration expenses (estate costs, funeral costs, etc.). Naturally, this will also include distributions to the beneficiaries entitled to the assets, as named in the will or trust. This entire process involves extremely complex considerations that are not apparent to anyone who is not trained in the practice of probate administration. Slight mistakes can result in a significant increase in both time and money; and thus it is very important to ensure that the estate is being administered properly. This process will involve tax related consequences, dealing with creditors, inventorying property, appraising property, paying off debts, court filings, procedures to avoid litigation, and considerations associated with exempt property, family allowance, and elective share benefits. In Florida, you cannot avoid the probate process, but you can shift the burden to a trusted attorney who can provide the most expedient and stress free process as possible.

It is a wonderful life, but don’t let it be a Grinch in death – 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