Matzah ball soup, a.k.a. the Jewish penicillin, is believed to be the “cure-all” to whatever ails you. But remember, you don’t need to be sick to enjoy a good matzah ball soup. That very same idea also applies to estate planning.

Many Floridians believe “I have plenty of time, and I will deal with my estate when the time comes.” And even more common, “Only old people need estate plans.” If you don’t wait until you’re sick to enjoy a good matzah ball soup, why wait for tragedy to approach or strike to plan for the future? Unfortunately, by then, it may be too late. An estate plan is not just about death. Whether you are still at the early part of your earning potential, have young children to worry about, or concerned with reducing the possible estate tax or probate mess, accomplishing these goals as quickly as possible is crucial. Like a good matzah ball soup, yourself and your loved ones deserve to enjoy the comfort of an estate plan during both the good times and the more challenging times.

Estate planning is an especially dynamic legal field. A “living trust” is the trust category most commonly employed for estate planning purposes. The two main living trust subcategories are “revocable” and “irrevocable.” As the respective terms imply, the Grantor may revoke the former type of trust at any point during his or her lifetime. Different trusts feature different legal requirements, and are designed to serve various purposes. Moreover, individual circumstances change over time that may dramatically affect your ideal estate planning strategy. A qualified lawyer should prepare all living trusts. Indeed, the Florida Supreme Court has decreed that the preparation of living trusts by any party other than a licensed Florida attorney constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. Consult a competent, qualified estate planning attorney in Florida today. Do not delay taking affirmative steps to secure the best future for yourself and your loved ones another moment.

Our law firm provides the knowledge and experience of a large law firm, while giving our clients the hands-on service and attention to detail that only a smaller firm can truly offer. Our lawyers regularly go beyond the customary services, tailoring their work to the specific needs of each client.

Our attorneys are well versed in a wide variety of legal practice areas which allows us to provide our clients with one-stop shopping for all of their legal needs. Rather than having to seek various individual counsels and having the headache of managing your own legal issues and costs, we provide the convenience of one South Florida location for all of your legal needs. You will receive the quality work product of a large law firm and the low cost and high attention to detail that small law firms are valued for.

At Wild Felice & Partners, we take customer service very seriously. It is our constant goal to exceed expectations and respond proactively to any legal issues that our clients may encounter. We pride ourselves on working together with our clients to set and achieve the desired outcome rather than merely categorizing our clients under a particular label and treating them each legal issue in a predisposed way.

We realize that each client’s needs are unique and treat each of our clients as if they are our only client. We hope you will take the time to contact one of our attorneys and truly experience all of the benefits that our South Florida law firm has to offer.

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. Estate planning is about those friends and family left behind, which is why we first ask our clients what their wealth transfer and asset protection goals are and then explain how we can accomplish those goals together. It’s a Wild world. Are you protected? SM

Regardless of the size of your estate, advance estate, tax and business planning is crucial. However, estate, tax and business planning for landlords and real estate developers pose some unusual situations and potential issues-but also unique opportunities to resolve or minimize such matters. The real estate business is one that is usually conducted under multiple ownership entities—sometimes involving separate partnerships, separate financing with various levels of personal guarantees, different joint venture structures and management arrangements with separate entities controlled by the same landlord or developer.  Unlike most non-real estate businesses, upon the death of the landlord or developer the estate and its executors and trustees will be left to deal with multiple entities, partners, lenders, tax matters and various other issues.

So…you are probably wondering what can be done to prevent these potentail issues from occuring?

For example: If the landlord or developer is the general partner of a limited partnership (LP) or managing member of a limited liability company (LLC), advance planning should provide for a named successor who will have the same management rights and obligations as the decedent landlord or developer. Loss of control of an entity could mean loss of voting rights, the ability to retain the management company or future residual values and fees.

Wild Felice & Partners is a full-service, Fort Lauderdale, Florida based law firm with a specialty in estate planning, asset protection and probate administration. We utilize a combination of real estate law, estate planning strategies, corporate formation, family law, and asset structuring to assure that our clients are protected from potential litigation, creditors, and any other threats that may be looming.

Our law firm provides the knowledge and experience of a large law firm, while giving our clients the hands-on service and attention to detail that only a smaller firm can truly offer. Our lawyers regularly go beyond the customary services, tailoring their work to the specific needs of each client.

Our attorneys are well versed in a wide variety of legal practice areas which allows us to provide our clients with one-stop shopping for all of their legal needs. Rather than having to seek various individual counsels and having the headache of managing your own legal issues and costs, we provide the convenience of one South Florida location for all of your legal needs. You will receive the quality work product of a large law firm and the low cost and high attention to detail that small law firms are valued for.

At Wild Felice & Partners, we take customer service very seriously. It is our constant goal to exceed expectations and respond proactively to any legal issues that our clients may encounter. We pride ourselves on working together with our clients to set and achieve the desired outcome rather than merely categorizing our clients under a particular label and treating them each legal issue in a predisposed way.

We realize that each client’s needs are unique and treat each of our clients as if they are our only client. We hope you will take the time to contact one of our attorneys and truly experience all of the benefits that our South Florida law firm has to offer.

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 to schedule your free consultation. It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

With every New Year comes change. With Y2K13 comes substantial changes in the United States Tax laws—as part of the so called “Fiscal Cliff”.  One of the areas of change in 2013 is the gift and estate tax law, especially the exemptions available to individuals and married couples from gift and estate taxes.

The House of Representatives—by a vote of 257-167, and the Senate—by a vote of 89-9 approved the Senate’s plan in attempt to avoid the fiscal cliff. President Barak Obama is expected to sign the bill into law. In the plan, the estate tax will rise to 40% with a $5 million exemption which will now be indexed to inflation. So far, the issue of gift tax has not been addressed. Unfortunately, the package sets up a mini fiscal cliff in two months (March 1, 2013), furthering confrontation over spending cuts, the debt ceiling, and the longer-term budget outlook.

While our South Florida estate planning attorneys have the expertise in tax planning, as well as the designations of LL.M. and CPA that provide for the highest level of professional service, our firm aims to shed the tax attorney paradigm that estate planners are often pigeon-holed with and focus instead on the dynamic relationships between our clients and their loved ones. Estate planning is about those friends and family left behind, which is why we first ask our clients what their wealth transfer and asset protection goals are and then explain how we can accomplish those goals together.

Whether our clients are still at the early part of their earning potential, have young children to worry about or are concerned with reducing the possible estate tax or probate mess left for their loved ones when they die, accomplishing these goals as quickly as possible is crucial. Our mortality is not in question; the only question is whether or not you choose to protect your loved ones and your wealth while you are still alive and able to do so.

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 to schedule your free consultation. It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

Your pet might be only part of your life; for him, you are his everything, the only person in his whole life. About 62 percent of all households in the United States have a pet, approximately 78.2 million dogs and 86.4 million cats are owned in the United States. (Source: APPA)

With a pet trust, you pick a trustee—a person who will manage the money you are funding the trust with, and a caregiver—this person will care for your pet. The trustee disperses funds to the caregiver, who will then use the money to care for the pet in the manner you have expressed in the trust.  Many people wonder why they do not just leave money and instructions for pet caregiving in their will, rather than make a separate trust.  The reason is because it can take a long time to process a will, and meanwhile your animals’ lives may be at risk if no steps are taken to care for them.  Your beloved pet might end up in a shelter, or worse, euthanized.

It is recommended that one should place specifics into their trust—such as details on the type of care their animal should receive and an alternative pet care giver, should something happen to your primary pet guardian. Consult an estate planning attorney when creating a pet trust, as state laws on pet trusts differ.

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

Gift giving is the surest way to help loved ones of all ages, establish a legacy, and reduce estate taxes. Yet, many people are hesitant to make significant gifts to loved ones because of the potential pitfalls.

“The wealth could be wasted or spent unwisely by the recipients…”

“Simple mismanagement by an unsophisticated heir might cause the money to disappear in scams or unwise investments or spending…”

“The wealth could be dissipated though gambling, substance abuse, or bankruptcy…”

“The wealth eventually could leave the family in a divorce…”

However, those pitfalls can be avoided with some creative giving strategies by gifting through trusts. Creating an irrevocable trust will give your family peace of mind that your assets will remain secure and be disbursed properly in a timely manner.

What are the main advantages of having an irrevocable trust?

• Asset Protection. Assets placed into an irrevocable trust are not considered to be owned by the grantor. Therefore, if you place an asset into an irrevocable trust, it will be instantly protected from creditors and judgment liens and may be protected from bankruptcy trustees and divorce as well.

• Avoiding Probate. Trusts allow your family to avoid probate. Probate is an arduous process that is costly and time consuming. It could delay the distribution of your assets for years. Additionally, probate can cost up to 10% of the value of your estate.

• Tax Advantages. The assets of the trust are not counted as part of your estate, so the estate taxes are lower or even completely eliminated. In addition, many irrevocable trusts also reduce your annual income tax burden.

• Lower Court and Attorney Fees: Distribution through a trust can save you on the attorney and executor’s fees charged to probate a will.

• Asset Protection for Beneficiaries. An irrevocable trust can protect your beneficiaries from having their inheritance taken from them through litigation, bankruptcy, creditors or divorce.

• Privacy. Irrevocable trusts are private documents and not subject to public record. Your family secrets and private bequests are not subject to public scrutiny or the eyes of undesirable claimants.

It is important to remember that a trust will be more beneficial to you and your family if it is executed before you need it. Although some people establish trusts after they inherit money, the benefit of privacy will be lost if you wait. Less than half of all Florida residents have an estate plan in place yet the death rate in Florida has held steady at 100 percent. The reason for this lapse in judgment is most likely due to a focus on the word “estate” rather than the word “planning.” The two biggest misconceptions made by most South Floridians that lack comprehensive estate planning is that they are either too young to worry about it or not wealthy enough to worry about. However, the fact remains that very rarely is estate planning solely about the money.

A Florida estate planning attorney can advise you on the type of trust that will most benefit you and your situation. This will give you and your family financial security and peace of mind.

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 to schedule your free consultation. It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

The answer is simple, everyone. (And yes, that includes you…)

Whether you are a parent, a property owner, or a professional, you need to protect your family and assets. No estate is too small for planning. Estate planning is a process involving the counsel of professional advisors who are familiar with your goals and concerns, your assets and how they are owned, and your family structure. It can involve the services of a variety of professionals, including your lawyer, accountant, financial planner, life insurance advisor, banker and broker.

Organizing your assets can help avoid family fights and reduce the stress of probate. If you fail to plan ahead, the court will appoint someone to handle your assets and personal care. Your assets will be distributed to your heirs according to a set of rules known as intestate succession. Contrary to popular belief, everything does not automatically go to the state if you die without a will. Your relatives, no matter how distant, will have priority in inheritance ahead of the state. Still, they may not be your choice of heirs. An estate plan gives you much greater control over who will inherit your assets after your death.

Less than half of all Florida residents have an estate plan in place yet the death rate in Florida has held steady at 100 percent. The reason for this lapse in judgment is most likely due to a focus on the word “estate” rather than the word “planning.” The two biggest misconceptions made by most South Floridians that lack comprehensive estate planning is that they are either too young to worry about it or not wealthy enough to worry about. However, the fact remains that very rarely is estate planning solely about the money.

While our South Florida estate planning attorneys have the expertise in tax planning, as well as the designations of LL.M. and CPA that provide for the highest level of professional service, our firm aims to shed the tax attorney paradigm that estate planners are often pigeon-holed with and focus instead on the dynamic relationships between our clients and their loved ones. Estate planning is about those friends and family left behind, which is why we first ask our clients what their wealth transfer and asset protection goals are and then explain how we can accomplish those goals together.

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 to schedule your free consultation. It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM