• How Can You Remove Someone from a Quit Claim Deed?
• How Is a Home Calculated for a Divorce?
• Who Executes My Estate Plan?
• What is Advanced Care Planning?
• If a Contract Is Breached, Who Pays the Fees If We Go to Court?
• Can I Help Control My Children From Spending Their Entire Inheritance at 18?
• How Does President Biden’s “American Families Plan” Effect Your Estate Plan?
• Are There Any Tax Implications When an Estate Is Settled?
• Is It Safe to Do a DIY Will Services?
• What is the Difference Between a Supplemental Trust vs Special Needs Trust?
• How Much Can You Leave Beneficiaries Without Facing Estate Tax?
• How Are Creditors Handled in Probate?
• Do I Need a Trust For My Child With Special Needs?
• What Property Can Go Into a Living Trust?
• What Information Do You Share About Me With Other Beneficiaries?
• How Do I Safeguard Protect The Assets Were Left Behind?
• Why Would I Need a Disposition Without Administration?
• What Are My Duties As An Executor?
• Is The Previous Power Of Attorney Still Valid?
• How Do I Get My Deceased Parents Annuity?
• How Do I Dispute Charges On My Credit Card?
• Do I Have To Pay The Decedent Credit Card Bills And Medical Bills From A Joint Account?
• How Do I Check The Tax Status On An Estate?
• My Parents Just Passed Away And They Did Not Have Time To Update Their Life Insurance Beneficiaries, What Can I Do?
• Should You Purchase Insurance on Vacant Land?
• If The Decedents Will Names Me As The Executor/Personal Representative, Can I Show The Will To The Bank And Close The Accounts, In The Decedents Name?
• What Is The Difference Between Will and Estate Planning?
• Do I Need Require a POA For Assets And Healthcare Decisions?
• Does a 401k Have To Go Through Probate?
• Are My Assets Protected If I Place Them In A Trust?
• Do I Have To Pay Income Tax On Money I Receive From An Estate?
• Can a Credit Card Company Put a Lien On My House If I Do Not Pay Them?
• If My Husband Dies, Do I Have To Pay His Medical Bills?
• If I Go To A Nursing Home, Will They Take My House?
• I Am Ready To Retire, What Legal Documents Do I Need?
• Do I Have To Pay My Mother’s Bills When She Dies, If I Am On Her Bank Accounts?
• How Do I Protect My Healthcare Rights?
• Will My Assets Be Protected From Creditor Claims, If I Place Them In a Trust?
• How Do I Decide What Type of Will Is Best For Me?
• What Is Not Covered By Insurance After A Hurricane
• How Do I Handle An Inherited 401k
• What Do I Need To Include In My Will
• When Should I Get A Living Will?
• What Is The Difference Of A Living Will And Medical Power Of Attorney?
• What Is A Testamentary Trust
• How Can I Help My Kids Not Spend Their Inheritance After Turning 18
• Do You Have To Pay Capital Gains Tax On A Home Sale
• What Do I Need To Create A Medical Directive
• WHAT IS A MIRROR IMAGE WILL
• ARE MY ASSETS PROTECTED FROM CREDITORS IF I SET UP A TRUST
• Can I Contest the Handling of Money By My Power Of Attorney Representative
• When Should I Make Updates To My Estate Plan
• Does My Will Have To Be Probated
• Revocable Trust Vs. Irrevocable Trust: What’s The Difference
• What Is a Testamentary Deposit Account
• Does Revocable Trust Need a Bank Account
• What is a Reverse Mortgage
• Why Would I Need to Open a Trust Account
• What Makes Will Invalid?
• How Do I Determine If a Deceased Person Owns Property?
• Can I Legally Access A Deceased Person Email Account
• Who Gets a Deceased Persons Vehicle When It Has a Loan
• How Do I Transfer My Homestead
• How Do I Determine If a Deceased Person Has Life Insurance?
• Who Can Serve as A Personal Representative?
• Can I Legally Drive a Deceased Persons Vehicle?
• What Are the Drawbacks of a Living Trust?
• If I Have a Living Trust, Should I Also Have a Will?
• Does A Living Trust Avoid Estate and Probate Taxes?
• Should Bank Accounts of the Deceased Person Be Closed Immediately Upon Death?
• How Do I Release a Vehicle Lien?
• Who Will Serve as the Personal Representative if There is No Will?
• Is Retirement Income Taxable to a Beneficiary?
• Is It Ever Too Late To Start The Florida Probate Process?
• How Long Does Probate Take?
• What Legal Documents Should Everyone Have?
• Can a Bank Refuse to Honor a Power of Attorney?
• Can a Family Member Override Power of Attorney?
• What is Required to Make a Last Will Legal?
• Where Does the Money Go if No Beneficiary Is Named On My Deceased Spouse’s Bank Account?
• When Is An Estate Too Small For Probate?
• What Estates That Need Probate And Those That Don’t?
• How Often Should I Update My Durable Power of Attorney?
• Do I Need to do Estate Planning Even if I Don’t Have Much Money?
• How Do Assets Pass at Death?
• What is the Minimum Age to Execute a Power of Attorney?
• What is the Uniformed Transfers to Minor Act?
• Can Real Estate Titles be in a Child’s Name?
• How Do I Access Someone’s Bank Account After They Die?
• What Do I Do After The Death Of A Family Member?
• How Do I Designate Where My Retirement Accounts And Investments Go Upon My Death?
• How Does Homestead Pass Upon Death?
• Can A Parent Change Their POA If Their Agent is Not Cooperating With Their Instructions?
• Do Proceeds of “Payable On Death” Bank Account Have To Go Through Probate?
• Why Is It Important To Do Estate Planning If I Have More Liabilites Than Assets?
• How Often Should I Update My Estate Planning?
• Is It Important To Have A Will Even If You Have No Assets?
• Why Do I Need A Durable Power Of Attorney?
• What Is Elder Law?
• Ask Jaleh: Estate Planning Considerations after Medicaid approval.
• Ask Jaleh: Special Needs Planning For People With Disabilities
• How Is Estate Planning I Do In Florida Impacted When I Move To Another State?
• What Can Be Done If My Agent Under My Power of Attorney is Misusing Funds?
• Is a Revocable Trust Preferable to a Will?
• Who Should I Appoint as My Healthcare Surrogate?
• How Do I Obtain a Power of Attorney?
• What Are the Benefits of a Health Care Savings Account?
• Asset Protection Video Index
• What Do I Need to Know About Asset Protection?
• How Do I Protect My Assets From Lawsuits?
• How Do I Protect My Assets From Creditors?
• What Is An Estate Planning Lawyer’s Role When Negotiating A Marital Settlement Agreement?
• How Can Domestic Life Partners Use Estate Planning to Provide for One Another?
• If a Couple Divorces, What are the Right of the Ex-Spouse in the Former Spouse’s Estate?
• Do I Need A Health Care Surrogate For My Adult Son Or Daughter?
• Elder Law Video Index
• Can I Leave Money to My Pet?
• Do I Need a Living Will?
• Can I Prepare Estate Planning Documents for My Relative with Dementia?
• What is a Health Care Surrogate?
• Advance Medical Directives Video Index
• Estate Planning Video Index
• What’s the Difference Between a Will and a Trust?
• Do I Need a Health Care Surrogate if I have a Living Will?

Video Summary

Can I leave my assets to my pets? This question is becoming more and more popular and Florida has passed a statute, as far as trusts are concerned, that specifically authorize a trust for your pets. It’s usually included in your will and provides you designate who you wish to care for the pet, and then you appoint someone else to supervise that the funds are applied for the pet’s use and care.

There is a specific provision for a pet trust, so if you’re interested in providing for your pet under your will, please give me a call and set up an appointment and I’ll be happy to assist you in setting up a trust provision for your pet when you’re no longer with us. My phone number is (727) 847-2288.

Video Summary

Do I need a living will?  I suggest that you go ahead and get a living will. They are not very expensive.  It is also called a declaration wherein you state in writing that you do not want your life prolonged in the event that you have a terminal condition, end-state condition or permanent vegetative state and you direct and authorize life support to be discontinued.

There was a case several years ago called the Schaivo case where someone was left on life support for years and years and years. She did not have a living will, and she made an oral declaration saying that she did not want to be put on life support. The family as well as the husband spent over $1 million on attorney fees litigating the issue as to whether or not life support should be discontinued.  Eventually, life support was discontinued.

With a living will, it does not keep you off of life support in the event that 911 is called. Even if you have a living will, they will come, revive you and take you to the nearest emergency room.  If you’ve lost consciousness or whatever the situation is, they will wait to stabilize you.  Once you’re stabilized, they will evaluate you to determine whether you’re in a permanent vegetative state, whether you’ve got any other complications.  And then once they make that evaluation then they’re authorized to contact whoever the healthcare surrogate is, a person you designate in your living will, as to whether or not you’re authorized to disconnect life support.  And then that person would then authorize the discontinuance of life support pursuant to your written instructions.

Many people say, “Well, I don’t want to be put on life support.”  There is a form called a “Do not resuscitate,” which is a DNR form; however, you have to be under a doctor’s care, and it’s usually whenever you’re in hospice and posted on a colored form over your hospital bed whenever you’re in hospice or in the hospital.  And if you do have a “Do not resuscitate,” and you go into a coronary arrest or some other life-threatening situation, they will not call in 911 or administer emergency care.  So it’s my suggestion, just as a precautionary measure – no one usually wants to be sustained if you’re in a permanent vegetative state – to have a living will so your loved ones will not be burdened with that problem if you’re never going to reach consciousness again and they have to support you in an assisted living facility or in a hospital.

So I suggest you do have a living will.  If you have any questions, give me a call at 727-847-2288.

Video Summary

I have a question from one of our clients who has inquired as to whether or not they can do estate planning for one of their loved ones that’s suffering from dementia. Unfortunately, you can’t do estate planning for someone else.  That’s something that they must do.  Depending on what stage of dementia they’re suffering from, they may or may not still have the mental capacity to sign the estate planning documents.  The test is whether they understand who their natural beneficiaries would be, such as children.  Also, they must be able to have some idea of the extent of their assets.

So if they understand who they would ordinarily leave their money to or who it would go to under the laws of the state of Florida if they don’t have a will, and also, the extent of their money, it may be advisable to complete all estate planning before that person’s capacity diminishes further and it’s too late. If someone’s in the early stages of dementia, they still may have the mental capacity to make a will, but you can’t make a will for someone suffering from dementia or someone that’s not.  It’s something that that person must do.

If you have any questions about that, please give us a call at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.

Video Summary

A common estate planning document our clients inquire about is a Health Care Surrogate. In this statutory document, you name an individual who you give authority to make medical decisions in your behalf in the event that you are unable to do so. Also, according to HIPA laws, medical providers are not allowed to disclose your medical information. In a Health Care Surrogate document, you authorize health care providers to release your medical information to the designated party.