To avoid probate in Florida, a person must use legal tools to ensure their property is owned in some way other than solely in their individual name. The overriding goal of probate is to convey the decedent’s assets to whom they wanted, how they wanted, and free and clear of creditor claims. But other legal…
Irrevocable trusts provide excellent asset protection for trust beneficiaries. Protection is codified in Florida statutes. Florida statute protect a beneficiary’s interests in irrevocable trusts that are either spendthrift trusts or discretionary trust. Florida statutes states that a a creditor cannot reach or force assignment of a debtor’s beneficial interest in a spendthrift trust. A spendthrift…
Some new clients have told me they have not made a will or a testamentary trust because they had assumed their spouse would automatically inherit all their individual property. These people misunderstand Florida law. Florida law entitles a surviving spouse rights in some, but not all, of a decedent’s property. A surviving spouse will inherit…
Putting your house in a trust, such as a revocable living trust, offers some estate planning benefits in Florida, but some downsides as well. A trust has three parts: a grantor (you), who sets up the trust a trustee, who controls the trust assets (often you as well) one or more beneficiaries (typically you while…
From time to time we receive inquiries about using limit liability companies to avoid probate of business interests and real estate. Some people believe that they can write terms and conditions in an LLC operating agreement that control the transfer of a member’s LLC interest after the member’s death. They believe that the deceased member’s…
Any individual may be a trustee and a beneficiary of a trust assuming that the trust agreement names other lifetime beneficiaries or successor beneficiaries after the death of the initial beneficiaries. For example, suppose a client wanted to serve as trustee of an irrevocable trust created for his benefit. The client’s general attorney cautioned him that he…
Clients who prepare living trusts for estate planning frequently will ask me whether they should transfer the legal title of their Florida homestead property to the name of their living trust. If the property is transferred to the trust the successor trustee will transfer or dispose of the property after the death of the trustmaker…
A common question that comes up at initial client meetings for living trust administration or probate concerns the treatment of the decedent’s homestead property. The heirs want to know if they can sell the parents’ homestead and whether a probate proceeding is required to handle the homestead. In most cases, these are families that used…
Asset protection planning often continues after death, especially when a surviving spouse has judgements or is vulnerable to lawsuit. The design of your estate planning determines whether your assets will be vulnerable to creditors of your surviving spouse or children. The typical living trust based estate plan for married couples the first spouse to die…
Estate planning clients begin their planning process with the expectation that they will be creating some type of trust for their heirs. Often, clients anticipate conveying their assets in to some form of trust, but they typically do not understand how different types of trust fit in to the estate planning process. Trusts are initially…
