Estate Planning in Mixed Company
Have you checked your probate lately? Do you even know what that is? My theory on probate is, get in, take care of it, get out. Probate is not a dirty word and it does not have to be expensive. Probate is the way the court verifies the will, makes sure certain debts are paid, and oversees the distribution of a decedent’s property. Probate ensures that the court does not take shortcuts in asset distribution. When someone dies, the ability to pay dies with him, not the debt. The debt goes to the estate, and a personal representative takes care of estate taxes, bills, and the orderly distribution of property or cash. A judge appoints the personal representative to assure that that person is qualified to act and not incompetent, incarcerated, or in-under-six-feet-of-dirt. The personal representative has a duty to the heirs and the creditors. He has an obligation to look for creditors and a duty to beneficiaries. Probate can take time, though. In some cases, depending on the size of the estate, tax implications, and desires of the testator, probate-avoidance methods, including trusts and pre-death distributions, are appropriate. However, do not let anyone scare you into purchasing an estate [...] Read More
Planning Ahead – What A Will Accomplishes
Some people like to plan ahead. They like to know what is going to happen…even after they are dead. Those people execute a will. Plenty of people have died without a will, including Abraham Lincoln, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Bono, Stieg Larsson, Pablo Picasso, and Howard Hughes. You do not have to have your asset distribution set out before a doctor signs your death certificate. Not having a will is not going to keep you alive. If you die without a will, your stuff gets distributed to your heirs according to a legal formula. However with a will, you can accomplish certain things, such as: 1. You decide who gets your property instead of the law making the choice for you. 2. You may name the personal representative (executor) of your will as you choose, provided the one named can qualify under Florida law. A personal representative is one who manages an estate, and may be either an individual or a bank or trust company, subject to certain limitations. 3. A trust may be created in a will whereby the estate or a portion of the estate will be kept intact with income distributed or accumulated for the benefit of members [...] Read More
Free Class Today: ‘Do You Need a Will? What if You Die Without One?’
Where there is a will, I want to be in it. Not everyone needs a will. If you pass away without a will, the State has one for you; it is called an Intestate Will. Without a will, the State runs up and down your family tree until they find an appropriate heir. In the absence of a spouse or descendant, property can pass to a parent or sibling. If there is none of the above, then a person who is a grandparent, aunt, uncle or first cousin may become a beneficiary. However, depending on your circumstances, you may want to control how your assets are distributed once you assume room temperature. To learn more, attend today’s free class ‘Do You Need a Will? What If You Die Without One?’, which is part of the People’s Law School series, presented by St. Johns County Legal Aid. This FREE one-hour class starts at 4:00 p.m. at the Southeast Branch Library (6670 US 1 South, St. Augustine, Florida). The People’s Law School schedule for the rest of the spring is as follows: March 12 – Rights of a Debtor March 19 – Landlord/Tenant Laws March 26 – Foreclosure Defense of Homesteads April [...] Read More
Where There Is A Will…
Where there is a will, I want to be in it…especially if Elvis Presley is the deceased. Some say Elvis died in 1977; others note that he has a fabulous living. Always among the richest working stiffs, Elvis earned $55 million in 2011 (but his death certificate makes him exempt from signing a federal tax return). Elvis may have left the building, but his earning power is still here. Not everyone needs a will. If you pass away without a will, the State has one for you; it is called an Intestate Will. Without a will, the State runs up and down your family tree until they find an appropriate heir. In the absence of a spouse or descendant, property can pass to a parent or sibling. If there is none of the above, then a person who is a grandparent, aunt, uncle or first cousin may become a beneficiary. However, depending on your circumstances, you may want to control how your assets are distributed once you assume room temperature. You may want to override an Intestate Will by writing a will of your own. Keep in mind that estate planning comes with a deadline: you cannot write your will [...] Read More
Intestate Will & Auto-Correct
So you predeceased the proper completion of your will. No problem. The State has one for you; it is called an Intestate Will. If you pass away without a will, the State runs up and down your family tree until they find an appropriate heir. In the absence of a spouse or descendant, property can pass to a parent or sibling. If there is none of the above, then a person who is a grandparent, aunt, uncle or first cousin may become a beneficiary. Intestate Will is like the Auto-Correct of unfinished business. For some situations, the default arrangements of the Intestate Will satisfy the wishes of the deceased. However, depending on your circumstances, you may want to control how your assets are distributed after you die. The Auto-Correct function on a Smart Phone can be useful and save time…and it can also substitute ‘divorce’ for ‘Disney,’ mix up ‘kids’ and ‘LSD,’ and insert ‘horse ovaries’ for ‘hors d’oeuvres.’ Thus, The LSD after Disney might inherit your trays for horse ovaries. Default settings may not be the outcome you are looking for. You may want to override Intestate Will by writing a will of your own. The most important thing [...] Read More
Will Versus Chance
Even if you have life insurance you are going to die. The question is Who gets your stuff? If you do not have a will, do not worry, the State has one for you. It is called an Intestate Will. None of your possessions get left up to chance. If you pass away without a will, the State runs up and down your family tree until they find an appropriate heir. In the absence of a spouse or descendant, property can pass to a parent or sibling. If there is one of the above, then a person who is a grandparent, aunt, uncle or first cousin may become a beneficiary. Maybe you were not all that close with Cousin Eddie. No doubt he could use your stock portfolio to make major improvements to his single-wide trailer, but Cousin Eddie might not be the ideal recipient of your rare book collection. A will controls where your assets go after you die. To learn more, attend the free People’s Law School today at the Southeast Branch Library in St. Augustine, “Do You Need a Will?” This one-hour session is presented by St. Johns County Legal Aid and begins at 4:00 p.m. Not [...] Read More