We live in a world where almost every person owns digital valuables. In the past, movies, music, bills, receipts, photos, and other documents were commonly held in physical form. In the event of the death of the original owner, these items were inherited by the beneficiary. However, with rapid tech advances, many of us prefer...
Category: Estate Planning
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Remote Notarization of Estate Documents Begins
On July 1, 2020, remote online notarization of wills and estate documents will go into effect in Florida. See Florida Ch. Sec. 117.201 et seq. Remote online notarization has already been in effect for other types of legal documents. In the past, ensuring the validity of estate documents required the physical presence of a certified...
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4 Estate Planning Tools to Prepare for Coronavirus
The entire world has changed dramatically over the past several weeks in light of the coronavirus pandemic. As more people see loss of life occurring every day, many cannot help but wonder what they can do to tie-up their end-of-life affairs if COVID-19 finds its way to them. The most effective and practical form of...
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Think estate planning is only for the super rich?
Estate planning is for everyone, regardless of your financial situation. Even someone who has only minimal possessions like a car and/or checking account, needs advance planning. What is estate planning? Estate planning is most simply a plan for who gets your stuff, how much of they get, and when they get it. There are many...
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Seniors Got Swag
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count.It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln It is important to live our lives to the fullest and to embrace all that life has to offer. This is true for any age at any time. Tomorrow is National Senior Citizens Day. It’s...
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No Pants Required!
Remote Notarization Coming to Florida If you enjoy working from home in the comfort of your pajamas, add notary service and real estate transactions to the list of tasks that can now be accomplished remotely, via video conference, without putting on your pants. Florida has now joined many other states in allowing the user of...
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Just Because You Can… Should You?
Would you extract your own tooth? Perform surgery on yourself? Shopping on amazon for things I don’t really need, I came across a few interesting items. Did you know amazon sells a surgical bone saw? Or a human rib spreader? Or dental extraction tools? Neither did I, until now. And the reviews, very entertaining! While...
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When is the Right Time for Estate Planning?
Is Estate Planning Important? The process of estate planning is more than just creating a will. Effective estate planning is vitally important. Estate planning minimizes income and estate taxes while also providing answers to questions regarding protecting your assets, medical treatment if you become incapacitated, and ensures money for anticipated expenses following your death. There is...
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What is a Personal Representative (PR) for an estate?
When someone passes away in Florida or while owning assets in Florida, then the estate of the decedent will go through the Florida probate process. Part of this process includes appointing of a Florida personal representative to oversee the affairs of the estate. A personal representative can be an individual, a bank, or a trust...
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Florida Trusts Explained
A trust is an arrangement in which one person (the trustee) manages and holds the title to a property, which can be both personal property and real property, to another (the settler or with) in favor of a third party (the beneficiary). There are many types of Florida trusts. A testamentary trust is created by...