How Do I Choose a Reliable Executor, and What Responsibilities Will They Have?
Video Summary
How do I choose a reliable executor and what responsibilities will they have? Well, you need to pick someone who is trustworthy, that you trust, and that you believe will treat all the beneficiaries fairly and knows enough to contact an attorney to get some guidance as far as handling the probate of your estate and handling your affairs as far as what their responsibilities are, as they need to petition the court to be appointed. And once they’re appointed, then a lawyer acts on their behalf, but they have a responsibility for filing a notice of administration to the various beneficiaries of the estate and also sends a notice to creditors giving the notice, giving them notice to file their claims in the estate. Moreover, they have the responsibility to send that notice to any reasonably ascertainable creditor so that the creditors can file their claims and the claim period runs about three months after.
They also have to file an inventory in 60 days, and they need to marshal the assets, meaning they need to collect the assets. I usually have them set up an estate account so that all the money goes into one account, so that whenever we have all the assets in and we file the inventory, we can then have an accounting to show what the expenses are and how much money is available to pay creditors and how much is available for the beneficiaries, which we then, if there’s enough money to pay the creditors, we pay the creditors. And then the balance, the money is distributed to the beneficiaries, but they’re entitled to accounting and to object to it or not. So that’s in a nutshell what the responsibilities are of an executor in Florida. The executor needs to be one of the following, either related by blood or in the alternative, a resident in the state of Florida, one of the two. So, if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Trusts, Videos, Wills
When Should I Update My Will, Trust, Or Other Estate Planning Documents?
Video Summary
When should I update my Will, Trust or other estate planning documents? You should update those when there’s a change in circumstances. Some of the circumstances would be in the event that you have more grandchildren or you have a problem with the death of one of the beneficiaries, a death of a child, the circumstance of one of the beneficiary changes, such as if they have a dependency problem or you need to set up a special needs trust for them or the circumstances of the beneficiary. Also, if you relocate to another state, well, you will want to have the Trust reviewed to see if it complies with the Florida law and have it controlled by the state where you are now residing. One of the big things that you need to look at your Trust is when it was set up, what the tax laws were. Many of the older Trusts have a provision to try and take advantage of the unified tax credit so that they split it up into two Trusts, a marital Trust and a credit shelter Trust. Well, now they’ve raised the estate tax limitations of approximately $14 million, which eliminates the problem of having to have two Trusts to take advantage of the credit shelter, and it can have some ramifications as far as how the credit shelter is dispersed to the spouse. So, these are some of the reasons why you want to look at your will or trust because of the change in circumstances if you lose a spouse, would be another one. Death of beneficiaries. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
If I Set Up a Trust, How Do I Fund It Properly?
Video Summary
If I set up a Trust, how do I fund it properly? You need to retitle your accounts or assets in the name of the trustee of your trust. Usually it’s your revocable trust, such as Roland d Waller as trustee of the Roland d Waller revocable trust dated July 4th, 2025. So, all the assets need to be titled in the name of the trustee of the trust, not just the name of the Trust. Since that is just a document, the trustee is bound by the provisions of the Trust, so it’s fairly easy to go to your banks and sign a new signature card and move your, or change the account, or move the accounts into the name of your name As trustee with real estate, you need to have deeds prepared to transfer the real estate into your trust. As far as LLCs, you need to change the membership interest to your Trust and with stock you need to make that transfer on death. So, these, it’s important that you retitle your assets and the name of the trustee of your Trust. If you have any questions about this, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
Can A Trust Protect My Assets from Creditors, Lawsuits, Or Long Term Care Costs?
Video Summary
Can a trust protect my assets from creditors, lawsuits long-term care costs? The answer is no. A revocable trust does not protect your assets from any of those, and that you look through the trust to see who controls the asset and who the beneficiary is, and so that it is a myth that many people have that they think if they transfer their assets into a trust that is protected from the claims accreditors. Also, as far as applying for Medicaid, if you need to have long-term care, again, the assets in the trust and the income is considered yours and you have to apply for it. Even the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t require you to get a separate federal identification number if you’re the trustee of your trust. Now, if you set up an irrevocable trust, then that’s a different story. Then it will protect your assets. However you lose control, you can have any control over your assets, and so there’s still a five-year lookback period for if you go into skilled nursing care, but I don’t drive irrevocable trust and that I don’t like the idea you’re giving up control of your assets and what happens to them. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Trusts, Videos
How Can I Make Sure My Beneficiaries Receive Their Inheritance Quickly and Smoothly?
Video Summary
How can I make sure my beneficiaries receive their inheritance quickly and smoothly? My suggestion is, particularly if you have a fairly simple estate, it’s how you title your assets with your bank accounts. You can put have it in your name, payable on death, and that’s a POD account and name your beneficiary. So, all they need is your death certificate and they can receive the Aspen. If you have a brokerage account with Merrill Lynch or Raymond James or Schwab or anyone else, you can put a transfer on death, A TOD designation, and that way the assets will pass to your beneficiaries by them presenting your death certificate and they’ll transfer it into your name, into the beneficiary’s name. If you own real estate and you want it to go to your beneficiaries, you can execute what they call a lady bird deed or enhanced life estate deed, which says that I convey the property to these beneficiaries. However, reserve all the rights of ownership during my lifetime, including the right to sell the property, keep all the proceeds, and you can even change who you wish to receive the property at the time of your death. So those are the ways that you can have these assets pass smoothly and without any lawyer interference as far as that’s concerned, or court interference. And so if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Trusts, Videos, Wills