In Florida, a spousal limited access trust, or SLAT, is an estate planning device that provides asset protection. This type of trust has advantages over the more common asset protection tool of tenancy by entireties ownership. Florida law exempts assets owned by married couples as tenants by entireties from execution of judgments against either spouse individually….
A Health Care Proxy, also known as a “Health Care Power of Attorney,” is a legal document that allows an individual to appoint a person to make health care decisions on their behalf in the event that they become incapacitated. In Florida, this document is governed by Florida Statutes Chapter…
A small estate affidavit in Florida is a step in a summary administration, which allows for the distribution of a deceased person’s assets without the need for probate court. This process is typically used when the deceased person’s estate is valued at less than $75,000 and they did not have…
Divorce leads to a great number of changes in a person’s life. One of the changes is the couple’s individual estate plans. Divorced spouses often are concerned that their existing will or living trust has to be rewritten after divorce. Concerns About Divorce Most married couples have a living trust…
Trusts have many purposes, including avoiding probate, reducing estate taxation, or protecting assets from creditor risk. The type of trust and the terms of trust depend on the priority of various planning goals. When it comes to estate planning, trusts can be a powerful tool for protecting your assets and…
Many people moving to Florida have previously made a will or created a living trust. Is their existing will or trust valid in Florida? Should they make a new will or amend their living trust? Florida law recognizes and enforces existing wills and living trusts executed in another state. Florida…
The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) issued a new rule (Rule 2021R-08F) addressing stabilizing braces used to convert pistols into short-barreled rifles, defined as a rifle having a barrel of fewer than 16 inches (“SBR”). The Rule regulates pistols that are made and intended to be fired from…
Understanding gay marriage statistics helps sculpt informed societal and legislative frameworks. These data points illuminate the progression of societal attitudes towards LGBTQ+ rights and allow for a quantifiable analysis of global and local shifts in acceptance and legal recognition of same-sex unions. For policymakers, statistics offer an evidence-based foundation to…
In Florida, a trust protector is an individual or financial institution named in the trust agreement that facilitates the administration of a trust. Having a trust protector is not required—it is an optional feature of a revocable or irrevocable trust. A protector can increase the asset protection benefits of trust…
Summary administration in Florida is a simplified process that provides a cheaper and quicker way to wind up a deceased person’s assets compared to formal probate. In order to file summary administration, (1) the value of the person’s property must be under $75,000, (2) the person must have been dead…
