Quality Legal Guidance For Wills And Estate Documents

Living well and passing on your life assets in the manner you prefer is not an accident. It is the result of purposeful planning, and declaring your intentions, in writing, in terms that are unmistakable. At the Lins Law Group, P.A., of Tampa, we have helped hundreds of individuals achieve peace by documenting these intentions. We mention just three of these areas here.

Will Attorney

If you die without a will, the state of Florida will decide where your assets go. That is not why you worked all your life, to have a cookie-cutter distribution method imposed on you. It is much better to make your wishes known and unarguable with a clear, comprehensive will.

Advance Directives

Who will make decisions for you as you get older? These documents will spell out your wishes:

• A living will specifies what life-extending care you want and what kind you don’t want if you are in a terminal or end-stage condition. Creating a living will is a great gift to your family, who should not have to make these heartbreaking decisions on your behalf.
• Powers of attorney allow you to designate who can make medical decisions for you (health care power of attorney) and who can make financial decisions (financial or durable power of attorney).

Special Needs Trusts

People with special needs often rely on Social Security and Medicaid for essential assistance. A special needs trust can provide for a person’s other needs, such as a residence and various other financial benefits, without the risk of losing access to the government programs.

If I have a will, does my estate still have to go through probate?

Many people are of the mistaken impression that if they have a will, their estate will not need to go through probate. This is not correct. The will does not avoid probate; the will merely provides the probate court direction on your wishes as far as how the estate should be probated. This is accomplished by setting forth matters such as designation of a personal representative, beneficiaries, distribution and the appointment of a guardian for minors. The will can be analogized to a “road map” for the probate court to follow. Even though a will does not avoid probate, it is still crucial to have a will because if you do not, when the probate estate is administered, the court or Florida law will make decisions for you. Most people do not want a Florida judge deciding matters like appointment of a personal representative or guardian of their children. They also do not want the Florida Legislature determining who will be their beneficiaries (which is what happens if they die with no will).

What is a living trust and how do I establish one?

A living trust is established by executing a formal written document which appoints a trustee to take possession of assets transferred into the trust and directs the trustee how to administer or manage the assets in the trust. The living trust allows the person setting up the trust (usually called the “grantor” or “settlor”) to designate themselves as the initial trustee and then to designate a successor trustee if the grantor dies or becomes incapacitated. The living trust authorizes the trustee to exercise certain specific powers in managing the trust without having a probate court involved. The living trust also allows the grantor to designate who will be the beneficiaries of the trust and to specify how the beneficiaries will receive their distributions. Many people like the living trust as a means of making distributions into the future, in increments or over a period of time rather than all at once. This becomes very important when beneficiaries are minors or are not mature enough to receive an inheritance all at once. While there are some similarities between a will and a living trust, the main difference is that with the living trust, assets or property are actually transferred to the trust during the grantor’s lifetime whereas with the will no transfer occurs until after death. As a result, with the living trust when the grantor dies, the grantor’s property is already in the trust and therefore is not subject to probate. Another attractive feature of the living trust is that it has great flexibility during the grantor’s lifetime. The living trust can be modified or amended by the grantor at any time. The assets and property transferred into the living trust can also be added to, replaced and removed at will. This means that to the grantor, he or she gains a great estate planning benefit from the living trust but does not lose use of his or her assets by transferring them into the living trust.

Can I set up a will or living trust using an internet or software form?

In today’s digital age, many people are finding legal documents and forms on the internet or through software purchased either online or through a local office supply store. Perhaps at no time has there been more truth to the saying: “You get what you pay for.” Many of the document forms being used are generic and try to apply to customers throughout the United States. They also are rarely specific to the person’s individual needs. When it comes to estate planning, whether it involves wills, living trusts or other related documents, the legal requirements are very state specific and precise. In addition, with wills and trusts, the legal requirements are very unbending and one mistake in their form or in their execution can make them either problematic or even unenforceable. Since there is so much at stake when it comes to the subject matter of these documents, the risk of making a mistake outweighs the cost of having them prepared by an experienced Florida estate planning attorney.

Ask Yourself This Question

Have I made my intentions clear, and made the task of my loved ones easier, by anticipating these problems?

If the answer to any of these three critical areas is “No,” talk to the lawyers at the Lins Law Group, P.A., today.

Don’t Put Off This Important Task – Take Action Today

Writing a will is a favor to the future. For assistance, call Tampa will attorney Michael Lins at the Lins Law Group, P.A., at 813-280-0082, or write us using this online form.