By: Phil Rarick, Esq. A Short Story With a Big Lesson Everyone admired the Anderson family. Walter and Joan had 5 children and had worked hard all their lives to give their children the best of American life: each child received a car when they were a junior in high…
By: Phillip B. Rarick, Weston Estate Planning Attorney In 2008 Florida passed an amendment to our Trust Code designed to allow a Trustee to use trust funds to pay legal fees incurred in defending a breach of trust litigation without prior court approval, so long as the Trustee gave notice…
By: Phil Rarick Here is a scenario we see more and more with persons who try to do estate planning themselves, specifically Florida Wills, without consulting with an experienced estate planning attorney. Louise has three adult daughters, Erma, Madeline, and Roseanne. The daughters are all close and speak to each…
By: Jacqueline R. Bowden Gold Our office handles probate estates for many out of state residents through our Florida Counsel services. In handling the estates there are three common problems we see with Non-Florida Wills that can easily be avoided by consulting with a Miami Estate Planning attorney. If you…
By Phil Rarick All modern passenger jet planes have at least two engines. Similar reasoning applies to prenuptial agreements. Many will argue that a good prenuptial agreement should fly safely on its own without the need for a “second engine.” However, a second engine could be a Nevada Asset Protection…
By Phil Rarick, Esq. May the odds be with you – but frankly they are not: A recent study indicated that the average lawyer can now expect three legal malpractice claims during his or her career. The overwhelming majority of legal malpractice claims — over 65% — are brought against…
By Phil Rarick, Esq. The Message. Apparently the message has not got out: In 2011, the legislature threw Florida single member LLC’s under the bus. In a compromise with the bank lobbyists called the Olmstead Patch, multi-member Florida LLC’s (or limited liability companies) were given charging order protection, but…
May the odds be with you –but frankly they’re not. More than 60% of doctors over the age of 55 have been sued at least once, according to a new survey by the American Medical Association (AMA). Doctors are not the only professionals at risk. Virtually all small business owners…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Probate Attorney Florida’s 30% elective share law was completely rewritten in 2001 because the old law could be easily circumvented by placing assets in a revocable trust or using non-probate transfers (e.g. life insurance, IRAs etc.) In an effort to curtail such tactics, the…
By Phillip B. Rarick, Miami Lakes and Weston Estate Planning Attorney Note: This 10 Point Checklist is for those persons who have interests in one or more Florida entities, such as a corporation, limited liability company (LLC), or limited Partnership (LP). 1. Annual Fees. In January the State of Florida…