How Long Will It Take to Create Estate Planning?
Video Summary
How long will it take to create an estate plan? Well, once you set up an appointment with an attorney and you provide ’em with all the information as to whom you would like to receive your assets, whether or not you want to Trust, and also who you want to make medical decisions for you. After he takes all the information in my office, I advise that I will send to them in the in mail, the documents for them to review and 10 to 14 days. The reason for sending them out by mail for them to review is so that they have a chance to read it, reflect on it, and make sure that that’s what they want, and also to correct any type of graphical errors. After they receive the documents, they call my office to set up an appointment and that I furnish the witnesses and the notary public as far as the proof of will and the notary and the power of attorney. So, it really depends on the attorney as far as how quickly it would take to put together your estate plan. After you have set the appointment up with the attorney and provided him with all the information, if you have any questions, you can call me at (727) 847-2288.
Even If I Have a Will, Should I Still Consider a Living Trust?
Video Summary
Even if I have a will, should I consider a Living Trust? Well, let’s talk about what a Will controls and what a trust controls, and then we’ll try and then you’d need to decide whether or not you would want to do a will and a trust or whether you’re satisfied with just the Will control whatever assets are titled just in your name alone at the time of your death. A Will will not control any assets such as joint bank accounts or bank accounts, have a beneficiary. The same can be said for a brokerage account. You can set those up so that there is what they call a TOD or transfer on death. Also, it doesn’t control life insurance, IRAs, or any other annuities or any other document that has a designated beneficiary. All of that is controlled by contract or the signature card. Now, a trust only controls those assets that are titled in the name of the trustee. Whenever you pass away, you usually are the trustee of your revocable trust, and then you’ve designated a successor trustee. And so that will only control those assets that are titled in your name as trustee under your trust. And of course, that designates who you wish to receive those assets. So whether or not you need a trust or not, or you need just use a will or whether you can title your assets so they pass automatically by designating beneficiaries. That’s all a product or a result of doing estate planning. That’s why they call it estate planning is so that you can discuss that with the attorney as to whether or not you need a will join assets or a trust or all three. So if you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
If I Leave Someone Money in My Will Can It Be Paid From a Joint Account?
Video Summary
If I leave someone money in my Will, can it be paid from a joint account? The answer is no. It cannot be paid from a joint account. A joint account has a signature card which says who owns the account upon whenever someone passes away the Florida law is the joint accounts will automatically go to the co-owner of the account or both parties on the account. So know that you can only request that and your will that someone pay that money out of a joint account, but that’s not legally binding and know the executor has no control over a joint account. An executor, in order to pay out devices can only pay those from assets or title in the decedent’s name alone. They’re in a probate proceeding. If there are no assets in a probate proceeding and they’re all jointly held, there is no probate, there’s no executor and all the assets passed without probate to whoever the join owner is or the designated beneficiary of the various accounts. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
Can I Help Control My Children From Spending Their Entire Inheritance at 18?
Video Summary:
Can I help control my children from spending their inheritance at age 18? If you are preparing estate planning documents or a Will or a Trust, that’s how you control your children being able to spend their inheritance. You can say that you leave your estate to a trustee and direct the trustee to hold the money for your children until they reach a certain age and use the money until they reach that age for their health, education and maintenance. After a certain age, you can direct it all, or a portion of it is then distributed to the child. I usually use a formula of you give ’em a third at age 25. The half of what’s left at age 30 and the balance is age 35. That’s based upon my recollection of me growing up and me being smarter at age 21 or 18, than I’ve ever been in my life, that I had all my answers to all the questions, and I knew everything and probably wouldn’t make wise decisions with the money. So the way you do that is by giving the property left to a trustee. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.
- Published in Estate Planning, Videos, Wills
What Is a Holographic Will?
Video Summary
What is a holographic Will? A holographic Will is whenever someone writes it out in their own handwriting, as we say cursive. I guess if they printed it, it would be the same thing. Florida Will recognize a holographic Will provided. It has the same as executed in the presence of two witnesses, which were present whenever the testator signed it and the testator was in their presence. There are some states where they make an exception for holographic Wills and accept them in the probate even if they’re not executed with the same formality as what is required by the state law. But Florida is not one of those states and for the Will to be effective here in Florida as a valid Will, it must be signed in the presence of two witnesses and the testator. So that’s a holographic Will. I suggest you spend a little bit of money with the attorney, but if not, we’ll be sure it’s signed in the presence of two witnesses. If you have any questions, give me a call at (727) 847-2288.