Plantation FL  5/18/2011 –
Michael D. Wild, managing partner of Wild Felice & Pardo, PA has been selected as the Small Business Person of the Year for the city of Plantation for his accomplishments in both private legal practice and in community and civic affairs.  Over the past year, and throughout his entire legal career, Michael has provided the residents of South Florida with exceptional service and care that goes above and beyond the expected.  His extensive knowledge in the areas of estate planning and asset protection, as well as his humorous and caring bedside manner, allows his clients to feel a level of assurance and security that is often missing in most encounters with legal professionals.

According to Wild: “The most important aspect of my practice is the relationship that I build with my client.  I don’t see my clients as the
monetary means to a self-serving end. Instead, I treat every client as if they were a family member or friend, which incidentally often leads to that relationship forming.  I am often invited to dinner or other social engagements by my clients and many even attempt to marry me off to their daughters … to my wife’s chagrin.  The greatest compliment I can receive from my client is them telling me that they feel safer and more secure after sitting and talking with me.  The emotional security of my clients has always been a top priority.”

Michael D. Wild is an attorney in greater Fort Lauderdale that focuses his law practice on the areas of estate planning, asset protection and probate administration. He has been serving families and small businesses in the South Florida area since 2006.  For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, or to schedule your free consultation with Michael Wild, 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?

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?

May is a month that often makes us think about birth and renewal.  April showers bring May flowers and Mother’s Day reminds us about nurturing, springtime and babies being born.  However, with Mother’s Day behind us, we can once again focus on death.

 WERE YOU BORN?

If you answered yes, I can discern two other facts.  First, you either have a mother now or had a mother at one time in the past.  Second, you will die.

There are only two certainties in life…

Death and reality shows about hoarding.  I bet you thought I was going to say Death and Taxes but the truth is that estate taxes can be eliminated with some basic foundational estate planning techniques.  A Bypass Trust can double a married couple’s estate tax exemption amount and life insurance owned by an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust can take care of the rest, in most situations.  There are also ways to use Investment Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, gifting and planned giving techniques for exceptionally high estates.  Fortunately for my wife, the Probate Code says nothing about how to reduce the amount of reality shows about hoarding. 

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?

With the automatic portability in 2011 and 2012, many estate planning attorneys have turned away from using Bypass Trusts for married couples.  The Bypass Trust allows for the surviving spouse to utilize the full estate tax exemption amount of the deceased spouse when distributing assets after the death of the surviving spouse.  Basically, it allows you to double the amount you can pass to your children tax-free.  Automatic portability also allows this but the portability is something brand new and may not survive past 2012, when it is currently due to expire.  If that alone isn’t enough reason to continue utilizing the Bypass Trust, it should also be pointed out that the use of automatic portability requires the filing of an estate tax return.  Even if the surviving spouse doesn’t need to pay any estate tax to the Federal Government, the cost of filing the return might still be very significant.  The non-use of the Bypass Trust is not only irresponsible but also bordering on legal malpractice.

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?

Tonight we celebrate the first night of Passover.  For those that are unfamiliar with the story of Passover, it commemorates the time when Moses led an exodus of the Jewish people out of Egypt in search of a country with a lower estate tax and more generous inheritance laws.  Lucky for Floridians alive in the year 2011, we have no inheritance tax, no state estate tax and the ability to draft living trusts to protect our family from the Federal estate tax.  

We can also use trusts to avoid probate, provide for a special-needs child and control the use of your assets  for many many years after your death.  There are dozens of reasons why a living trust might benefit your family and one of the most popular reasons is saving your family some dough.  Unfortunately for my fellow Jewish people, dough is something that we wont be enjoying over the next 8 days, at least not the leavened kind.

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?