As you work on your estate plan, something that you may want to include is special needs planning. If you have a child or dependent that turns to you for support due to a disability, then special needs planning is essential. It’s a good idea to do any special needs...
Trusts
Why should you choose a spendthrift trust for your heirs?
One particularly useful tool in the estate-planning tool box is a spendthrift trust. It's name may make you think that it's only good for heirs with the tendency to burn through their money. However, spendthrift trusts are actually good financial vehicles for those in...
The top benefits of living trusts
If you are currently planning your estate, you may be considering additional estate planning strategies to help your beneficiaries to maximize their inheritance. You'll probably know that the main disadvantage to wills is that all assets must go through the probate...
Looking at trusts? Here are some to consider
Something you've heard about in the past and are interested in creating is a living trust. A living trust is an excellent way to pass on your investments, assets and property after you die and is sometimes used in addition to or in place of a final will.With living...
Steps that you can take to avoid the Florida probate process
When someone dies, the executor of their estate locates and files their will with the probate court in the Florida county where the decedent resided at the time of their death. You don't avoid the probate process by not having a will in place. There are, however,...
What are the pros and cons of living trusts?
Trusts are a popular way to engage in probate avoidance. Many people who plan their estates prioritize probate avoidance because they want to maximize the funds that they will be able to leave to their beneficiaries.If you are interested in avoiding probate, you...
How 529 plans help create estate planning flexibility
For Florida residents, putting money into a 529 education savings plan can be a way to reduce the size of a taxable estate. At the same time, an individual has the power to dictate who the beneficiary of that account will be. Typically, an individual can provide a...
Why a person might want to create a trust
Florida residents and others might not be comfortable thinking about their own mortality. However, creating a revocable living trust may have several benefits for people today and into the future. For instance, an individual gets to control how the assets inside of...
Possible drawbacks of overusing beneficiary designations
Some people in Florida may have retirement accounts and life insurance policies that have beneficiary designations. This is a common way to pass these assets, and it keeps them out of the probate process. However, some people may be encouraged by financial advisers to...
Trusts offer options for future flexibility and tax protection
When planning for the future, people in Florida may choose to create a trust to pass on their assets because of the higher level of flexibility, control and privacy that it provides. Trusts can be structured in many different ways, and they can provide funds to...
