Articles Posted in miami estate planning lawyer

What Happens if a Trustee Dies in Florida? By Phil Rarick, Miami Trust Attorney and Jasmine Benitez, Legal Assistant If you’re the beneficiary of a trust — or you’ve created one — and wonder what happens when a trustee passes away in Florida, you are not alone. This is a common concern, and thankfully, Florida…

Differences Between a Revocable Trust and an Irrevocable Trust By Phil Rarick, Weston Trust Attorney, and Jasmine Benitez, Legal Assistant When planning your estate, choosing the right type of trust is crucial. Two of the most common options are revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts. While revocable and irrevocable trusts serve important roles in managing and…

How Do I Choose a Trustee? By Phil Rarick, Miami Trust Attorney, and Jasmine Benitez, Legal Assistant Choosing a trustee is one of the most important decisions you will make when creating a trust.   A trust is simply legally binding instructions, and you must be confident that your trustee will follow these instructions exactly and…

Can a Florida Trust be Contested? By Phil Rarick, Weston Trust Attorney, and Jasmine Benitez, Legal Assistant Estate planning is essential for ensuring your wishes are carried out after you are gone. Today, the preferred choice for estate planning is a living revocable trust. But what happens if a qualified beneficiary disagrees with the terms…

Does a Florida Land Trust Provide Asset Protection? By Phil Rarick, Weston Trust Attorney, and Jasmine Benitez, Legal Assistant Many real estate investors wrongly believe that a Florida Land Trust can offer asset protection. While this type of trust is known for providing privacy and simplifying estate planning, they do not provide comprehensive protection from…

What is a Family Trust? By Phil Rarick, Weston Trust Attorney – Every family needs instructions in the event of disability or death. A Family Trust, also known as a Living Trust, is your detailed, legally binding instructions to care for you and your family in the event of mental incapacity or death. A trust…

Keeping Peace in The Family: 5 Common Pitfalls By Attorney Phil Rarick, Weston Estate Planning Attorney As an estate planning attorney, I sometimes witness stressful family fights that break out upon the death of a father or mother or husband and wife. On some occasions, it’s outright family warfare! What is painful is that the…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq., Miami Asset Protection Attorney If you have never checked Florida’s website for lost accounts and abandoned property you should do so – immediately. You may be pleasantly surprised! You may think that it is not possible that you have any “unclaimed” property held by the State of Florida – and…

By Phillip B. Rarick, Esq. and Jay R. Beskin, Esq. Last year the Federal annual gift tax exclusion was $15,000 and the amount remains the same for 2019. This means you can walk down the street and give out $15,000 to every person you meet and not have to file a gift tax return. If…

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 legislature overhauled the statute and…