In our last post, we wrote about the sudden and tragic death of actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He was only 46 and died of an apparent heroin overdose after more than two decades of staying clean and sober. Hoffman's death is a reminder that life is unpredictable – which means that death is also l...

Life is short and unpredictable. This sentiment is repeated so often that it has become cliché and few of us stop to truly think about what it means practically. But Americans were recently given a somber reminder of its meaning with the unexpected death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was widely ...

Today, it's difficult to define a so-called typical American family. In years past, most American families readily consisted of a husband, wife and children. By contrast, today's families may include a husband his third wife and several step children and half siblings. In most cases, the more com...

Back in November, we wrote about a legal dispute over a very valuable piece of artwork left in a deceased actress' estate. When longtime Hollywood celebrity Farrah Fawcett passed away in 2009, she left a rather extensive art collection to the University of Texas. This was documented in a revocabl...

Selecting a person to administer a trust may is a very important decision. After all, whoever is selected as trustee is put in a position to manage and distribute assets. Failure to adhere to the terms of the trust could result in very serious legal issues, in addition to potentially shorting ben...

Life happens. There are marriages, but there are also divorces. Babies are born, while loved ones also pass away. All of these situations — no matter how happy or sad — have an impact on our lives. And, from an estate planning point of view, also effect just who our money may go to. Take for exam...

When we think about Thanksgiving, most of us think about family togetherness. And if your family will be together this year (particularly your adult children), now may be a good time to start a discussion about your estate plan. It's not easy to think about our own mortality, but estate planning ...

It's important to have a clear and thorough estate plan in place for many reasons. For starters, a well-drafted estate plan (and a will in particular) will minimize the chances of in-fighting between your heirs and beneficiaries over specific pieces of property or certain assets. When it comes to...

The word “family” has many definitions and even more connotations. The term is commonly used to refer to a group of people who share DNA – parents and children, for example. But it can also be used to describe the closeness of friends. Sometimes it describes legal relationships regardless of sent...

Not far south of Jupiter, a man who once famously raged in the boxing ring made a living telling jokes and selling drinks. The subject of Martin Scorcese's “Raging Bull” was boxer Jake LaMotta, who moved to Miami after retiring from the ring to open a club where he performed stand-up comedy. Now ...

If you're under 40 years old, chances are that you haven't thought much about creating an estate plan. You may not even think you need one. But because none of us can know what the future will bring, it's important to have a plan in place sooner rather than later. You may not have significant ass...

When making decisions related to estate planning matters, many individuals wrongly assume a will is the only document needed to fulfill their wishes. While an updated will is certainly important and can be used to designate many estate planning matters, it's essential that individuals ensure bene...

When considering estate planning matters, the number one issue on an individual's mind typically revolves around ensuring the maximum amount of wealth is passed on to heirs and beneficiaries. In most cases, simple estate planning documents including a will and trust are sufficient in ensuring ass...

Many young adults and couples with minor-aged children may struggle for years to make ends meet. A job loss coupled with debt and varied monthly expenses often result in many Americans living paycheck to paycheck. When possible, some retired parents opt to help a struggling child financially. Whi...

All parents worry about their children. As children grow and become adults, most parents are able to let go and trust that a grown child is able to care and provide for him or her self. However, when a child has a physical or mental disability, those worries and responsibilities often carryover i...

Many Florida residents likely have at least one type of online account. Whether a social media profile, photo sharing website or automatic online bill pay website; increasingly much of an individual's life and transactional activity takes place in the online realm via the Internet. In fact, a rec...

Trusts can be a valuable estate planning tool. Trusts can be complex, but in its simplest form, a trustee manages the assets in a trust to provide for the beneficiary. There can be many advantages to forming a trust. One of them is that a trust is a unique vehicle for ensuring that the intent of ...

Some of the country's wealthiest individuals are known as much for their contributions in business as they are for their charitable giving. Some of these individuals, like investor Warren Buffet, have made public statements about the importance of charitable giving for the nation's wealthiest fam...

There are many moments in life when it comes time to have “the talk”, whether it is about marriage, children, divorce, or other personal concerns, there are some inevitable moments at which we must have difficult conversations with the ones we love. Estate planning can often be one of those momen...

What appears to be a simple estate planning mistake is now a case being decided by the United States Supreme Court. The nine justices recently heard arguments in a case with a mix of family law and estate planning issues in deciding whether a man's federal employee life insurance policy should be...

A recent court of appeals decision was a surprise to both bankruptcy and estate planning professionals when judges decided that creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding could seek access to the funds contained in an inherited IRA account. The decision is a departure from those in other jurisdictions ...

Florida residents use their email accounts and social media profiles every day; yet we rarely consider what will happen to those accounts when we pass away. There are the practical considerations of course, such as how someone will access our email to monitor automatic bill paying. And then there...

There is an emerging trend among socially conscious young people who inherit money to give away large portions of their wealth to charities. The young philanthropists often say that because they did not personally earn the money, they find keeping it to be unfair. Donating or otherwise giving awa...

The children of a man convicted of murdering his parents will inherit money from their grandparents, after a probate court confirmed that the man cannot inherit from people he apparently killed. Many Florida readers don't know this, but potential heirs who had a hand in the death of the person th...

The United States Supreme Court will hear a major case involving complex estate tax issues this session as they review the restrictions under the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The case was brought by a woman who married her longtime partner in Canada and was the sole beneficiary of her estate ...