Blog - Elder & Estate Planning Attorneys, PA.

Preparing for Summer Adventures: Essential Estate Planning Checklist for Travelers

Summer is here, are you ready to travel? Are you staying close to home? Or are you traveling to another state or out of the country to spend time with family and friends? It seems that the travel choices you have now that the pandemic has lessened in its impact are countless.

Are you vacationing with minor children or grandchildren who need their days planned with adventures or you are looking for adventure, or just getting a change of scenery or traveling to an exotic place with your loved ones? As you begin to prepare your summer adventures, have you added essential Florida estate planning to your checklist? We would like to share below on our blog a Florida estate planning checklist for travelers for you to complete before your summer adventure begins. It will enable you to travel with complete peace of mind.

What about your mail? Be aware that neighbors and friends do not have the legal authority to pick up your mail while you are on your summer vacation. However, if you are gone for extended periods of time you do want someone to pick up your mail. So, under your Florida durable power of attorney, your agent would have the authority to pick up your mail if you were out of town.

What about access to money, cash, and your bank accounts? How do you get access to your money while you are on vacation? Or if you need to make bank transfers? Or if you need to act on a business transaction or sell a piece of property? Your agent, under your Florida durable power of attorney, can be given the legal authority to handle these transactions on your behalf, and even work with your experienced Florida estate planning attorney to make sure it is handled correctly.

What about health care decisions? While vacationing, if you were injured, unconscious, or seriously harmed to the point where you are incapacitated and not able to make decisions for yourself, who would make your healthcare decisions? With your healthcare planning in your Florida advanced directives, you can identify not only a primary person to act in your place, but alternative choices in the event they are unable to act as well.

Do you have travel insurance? Most summer travel has the opportunity to be covered by travel insurance and that is a good thing. However, the travel insurance company is not going to speak with someone who does not have legal authority to act on your behalf. Your Florida advanced directives will be a significant help should your travel insurance policy need to be activated by someone other than yourself.

Do you have a plan in an emergency? While traveling, if something serious happens to you, your Florida estate plan will hold all the details of what to do. With the guidance of your experienced Florida estate planning attorney, your agent and your personal representative can work with your attorney to ensure your goals for your person and your legacy are met.

Finally, be sure to ask your experienced Florida estate planning attorney what estate planning documents to bring with you on your summer vacation.

We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

When Is The Best Time to Complete Your Florida Estate Plan?

Do you have a Florida estate plan? Are you aware that it is a critical tool that all adults living in Florida should have? With a Florida estate plan you can think about what you want for yourself, your loved ones, your business, and your legacy. It is also about more than what happens at the end of your life, although that is an important part of the process. In addition, estate planning also makes you answer the tough questions including, but not limited to, what should happen if you no longer have the capacity you need to make your own decisions.

Now that you understand you need a Florida estate plan to plan for your future, what is next? It may be to answer the question: When is the best time to complete your Florida estate plan? As Florida estate planning attorneys, we are frequently asked this question. Below we have five very different instances to answer the question about when to create your Florida estate plan.

As soon as you turn 18. Your 18th birthday is definitely not too young to create your Florida estate plan. Without an estate plan in place, there is no one who has legal authority to make decisions for you in the event you are in a car accident or other crisis. That means, no one will be able to pay your bills, access your bank accounts, or talk to your doctors. Your Florida estate planning attorney can work with you to make an estate plan that will protect you and put the people who you want to be in charge of you in place in a crisis. Your Florida estate planning attorney will also talk to you about how to create a legacy and plan for a time when you are no longer here.

As soon as you get married. It is exciting to begin planning for a time when you will share your life with another person. You also want to think about how you will protect and provide for each other. The best way to do that is to work with an experienced Florida estate planning attorney and have a Florida estate plan created.

As soon as you have a child. Planning becomes even more critical when you have children, especially minor children. Who will take care of them if something happens to you? When should they inherit? How will you provide for their future if you are no longer here? These are the questions your excellent and comprehensive Florida estate plan can answer when you work with a qualified Florida estate planning attorney.

No matter the amount, as soon as you inherit. Whether your inheritance is small or large, it is important to protect it. The person who left you this inheritance may have had clear instructions for you that you want to copy in your own estate plan or you may have inherited through a messy process that you do not want others to go through. No matter your reason, this is an important time to meet with your Florida estate planning attorney and plan ahead.

As soon as you start a business. As you begin the start up process you need to consider all the ways you should protect yourself, your family, and your business from what comes next. In fact, your Florida estate planning attorney can help you not only design your Florida estate plan but be able to advise you on your business planning as well.

We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

Estate Planning Tips You Need to Consider When You Have a Recent Cancer Diagnosis

Do you have a Florida estate plan? Estate planning is critical for all of us. From being able to make the early choice of who will be able to care for you in a crisis to who should have legal authority to make decisions when you are incapacitated to, ultimately, deciding who should inherit from you at a time when you’re no longer here, are each important conversations that take place when you work with your Florida estate planning attorney. Although less than half of all Americans today have an estate plan, the importance of it in our daily lives cannot be diminished.

Even though we may choose to ignore the benefits of a Florida estate plan and what it can do for us when we are healthy, we have seen firsthand this concept change dramatically in light of a negative healthcare diagnosis. Know that when we are facing a significant health care issue such as cancer, for example, we start to question what the next chapter of our lives will look like. We need estate planning tips to be able to answer questions such as:

Who will pay my bills if I cannot?
Who will make sure I have access to government benefits?
Who will make my healthcare decisions if I’m in a coma?
Do I need a living will?
Who should inherit from me at the time of my passing?
Who will care for my pets?
How can I ensure my business continues when I am not here?
Who will be able to make sure my bills are paid on time?
How can I make sure my family is provided for in my absence?

A Florida estate plan can give you tips to answer these questions, and so many more when it comes to caring for those who you love, planning for your legacy, and providing for yourself.

Your estate plan will allow you to answer lifetime questions in advance. This could include, but is not limited to, choosing trusted decision makers to act for you in a crisis when you no longer have capacity to make your own decisions. You can give legal authority through estate planning tools, such as a power of attorney, to those that you trust as well as name back ups in the event they are not able to act for you when needed.

When you face a diagnosis such as cancer, careful Florida estate planning can also work hand-in-hand with your health care plan. For example, what treatment do you want to receive? What treatment do you not want to receive? What do you wish to see happen in your business? How do you want your minor children to be cared for? How will you pay for this care? And, if you are unable to act for yourself, who should make these decisions for you?

Further, through your Florida estate planning you can also create your legacy. This is more than just the concept of who should inherit from you at the time you pass away. This is your opportunity to share your dreams for those who will inherit from you and the goals for your legacy. Your experienced Florida estate planning attorney can help you define what your legacy looks like and ensure you have a place in a plan in place to reach it.

We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

Estate Planning Considerations for Your Adult Children After Your Remarriage

As a Florida senior, are you considering remarriage? However, should there be estate planning considerations for your adult children once you remarry? As a senior adult you have experienced many important events like marriages, births, divorces, deaths, and separations and they play an important role in your daily life. While you think in depth about the ins and outs of each of these occasions, should you think about them in the context of your Florida estate planning?

As you think about your remarriage, were you aware that statistics tell us that for 55 year olds, and older, the remarriage rate has grown from 24 percent in 1960 to 57 percent in 2013? This is now more than any other age group. As you plan for your future nuptials, have you considered how your remarriage will impact your estate plan, including your planning for your adult children? Do you want to be sure the assets from your first marriage are available to them when the time comes that you are no longer here? Below are some considerations for you to think about when it comes to protecting your adult children in a second marriage.

Take into consideration your existing asset structure and protect it. With seniors remarrying more often, they are usually the age group that has more assets coming into a remarriage. So when we remarry later in life, there are probably more assets to consider planning for. A senior adult may have assets ranging from homes, vehicles, and personal tangible goods, to retirement accounts, savings, life insurance policies, and brokerage accounts. Of course you will want to be sure the adult children of your first marriage are the recipients of your assets. When you work with your experienced Florida estate planning attorney she will be able to show you careful planning considerations for your estate plan and may recommend a prenuptial agreement. This agreement can lay a foundation for understanding your goals for your previously owned assets at the time you entered into your marriage, and protect your existing adult children.

Take into consideration a thoughtful plan for both your new spouse and your adult children. When you create your estate plan you are creating a legacy. Rest assured, even with a prenuptial agreement, that you can plan for both your new spouse and your adult children. You can discuss with your Florida estate planning attorney creating a last will and testament or trust agreement that details the distribution of specific assets you want your new spouse or your adult children to receive.

Take into consideration the laws of your state. You should know that the state Florida rules will apply. Your spouse must receive the elective share, in Florida it is roughly thirty percent of your estate, unless you plan around this in advance in your prenuptial agreement. This could include at least a life estate of your home and other assets. If your primary goal is to provide for your adult children of a previous marriage you will want to work closely with your Florida estate planning attorney to make this a reality.

Take into consideration open communication about your estate planning goals. Many of our clients want to keep their goals for their legacy private for as long as possible, however, open communication in this area may be critical to avoiding future legal challenges. If you are comfortable, discuss your goals with your new spouse as well as your adult children. Consider including them in your meetings with your Florida estate planning attorney so everyone knows, and has time to both adjust and respect, your wishes.

We know this article raises more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

Congratulations are in order for Florida Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorneys!

Our firm is so excited to be included in the top three finalists for the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce Leadership Awards 2023: Small Business of the Year! We are honored to be included with the other local leaders in our community. This year’s Annual Leadership Awards celebrate Palm Beach North’s outstanding leaders and businesses making a difference in this community and we are excited to be a part of it.

Our goals at Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys PA is to be a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We work with clients through Florida, specifically in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida.

Our elder law firm consists of seasoned attorneys in Florida with decades of experience in:

Wills and Trusts
Asset Protection
Advanced Estate Planning
Elder Law
Veteran’s Benefits Planning
Medicaid Benefits Planning
Representation of Fiduciaries
Real Estate Services
Residential and Commercial Leases
Business Law
Litigation
Probate and Trust Litigation
Probate and Trust Administration

We work hard to ensure you will receive personal services as you make some of the most important decisions in your life. The extra benefit when you work with our law firm? You will have the assurance that your decisions will be for the best under the guidance of experienced lawyers.

Our firm is led by the exceptional Anne’ Desormier-Cartwright who, in 1985, began her practice as a real estate, landlord tenant and commercial trial lawyer. Since 1994, her practice expanded to include guardianship, mental health, probate and trust administration, and trusts and estate planning, as well as Special Needs trusts, Medicaid and Veterans Benefits Planning. More recently, she started helping clients with remedies for elder exploitation.

She is a Charter member of ElderCounsel, a nation wide association of elder law attorneys focused on the changing laws affecting the elderly. She is also a member of WealthCounsel and Advisors Forum which focuses on how the laws affect wealth planning and distribution of assets throughout a client’s life and at death. Ms. Desormier also enjoys active memberships in NAELA and AFELA, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys, respectively. These organizations lead the way for understanding and preparing legislation to address the complicated issues our elderly population faces as they age.

She is also a 30 year member of The Greater Palm Beach Chapter of National Association of Women in Construction and has served on the Board of Directors in various capacities. She continues to be a member helping members in their business succession, estate planning, elder law and real estate needs.
We encourage you to take a minute out of your schedule to congratulate our entire firm on this tremendous achievement and let us know how we may help you. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and so much more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

Could You Be Headed To A Will Contest In Florida?

Have you created a solid Florida estate plan? Did you try to create a Florida estate plan that can give legal authority to another person of your choosing? Your decision to choose this person is very important because he or she will now have the ability to make your decisions should something happen to you resulting in your inability to make decisions during your lifetime. However, this lifetime protection is just one part of the equation.

Legacy planning is also important to many people. People want to decide now what to do with their hard earned assets at the time of their passing. By creating a legacy through their estate plan they will be able to provide for their intended beneficiaries, not just in the present but often for years to come. We know how important a solid future for the loved ones of our clients is.

However, what happens when all your planning is not well received? What happens if the work you and your Florida estate planning attorney thoughtfully created for your legacy comes under attack from third parties? Who could these third parties be? They could be creditors, business partners, relatives, and even your own children, who do not agree with what you intended, created and planned. So how do you prevent your careful planning from coming under attack and potentially being undone? In fact, could you be headed to a will contest in Florida?

As Florida estate planning attorneys we understand your concerns and know what to do. We would like to share with you some ways to potentially limit the likelihood of a will contest, and ultimately be successful.

Take the time to identify potential complications early and share them with your Florida estate planning attorney if you want to avoid any potential contests in the future. Do you have anyone in your life that you do not want to inherit from you? Do you have business partners or employees who do not want to be included if you are no longer here? Do you want your business to continue without you? Could you sell your business? Is there anyone in your life, including an adult child, who you absolutely do not want to be making your decisions at the time of your incapacity or death?
It is very important that you do not risk your Florida estate planning, either in the creation or in the updates or amendments, with a do-it-yourself or internet estate plan! Be aware that there are strict laws to be followed when you want your Florida estate plan to work. While you can read about signing provisions, execution, requirements, notarization requirements, and much more, your best defense to potential legal challenges is the experience of a Florida estate planning attorney who you choose to work with. Your Florida estate planning attorney will understand your goals, your values, what you do and do not want, and will be able to support you both in life as well as at the time of your passing, especially if any challenges arise.
It is acceptable that you consider letting others know your wishes for your legacy. We do have many of our clients choose to keep their Florida estate planning goals and choices confidential, but you do not have to. Communication is key in all situations, especially with the understanding of what you want for your legacy. Letting vital decision makers, and even beneficiaries, know your wishes early may be a critical step in helping them understand why you did or did not make the choices they believed were in their best interest. However, before taking this step, discuss the pros and cons with your Florida estate planning attorney.
Consider trust planning, not just will planning, as a part of your estate plan. Unfortunately, despite much public misinformation, a Florida last will and testament does not avoid the probate process. Instead, the last will and testament ensures that a probate may be needed. Probate is a public proceeding and can give a forum for challenges to your Florida estate plan. With most Florida trust planning, however, the probate process can be avoided, and your trust administration process can be kept private.
Most importantly, it is highly recommended that you hire an experienced Florida estate planning attorney. There is absolutely no substitute for experience in this area. Your Florida estate planning attorney, with years of experience and training, will be able to help you navigate these challenges both while you are creating your Florida estate plan as well as being available for your decision makers in the event of your incapacity or death. Be sure to discuss any and all concerns you have related to potential conflict at the time of your passing with your Florida estate planning attorney so you can receive guidance on what the best course of action is. Secrets, uncertainty, or surprises, in this area do not benefit anyone and in fact can damage your planning if they are not disclosed in full when you meet with your Florida estate planning attorney.

We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

How To Plan Your Florida Estate For A Loved One With Autism

Do you have a loved one with autism? Planning for the future of your loved one is not a task to take lightly, or to begin without careful planning. The specific needs of autistic individuals can vary greatly depending on the severity of their autism and many people with autism need assistance throughout their entire lives.

We firmly believe that the key to planning for a loved one with autism is to begin early. When caring for your loved one with autism as either the parent, grandparent, or sibling, part of your role is to make sure there is a solid legal, financial and medical foundation in place.

In our firm we work with the families of autistic loved ones and the challenges they face each and every day. We know it can be hard to start planning ahead for the future. And we know this type of estate planning is hard and it is definitely hard to think about a time when you may not be here to provide care yourself. We would like to help you start this process by answering some questions we often hear in regard to planning for your autistic loved one.

Will I always have the authority to make decisions for my autistic child? No, not without planning. When a minor with autism reaches the age of majority in Florida, he or she becomes a legal adult. Even if his or her developmental, cognitive or mental disabilities are severe, in the eyes of the law your child will be deemed an adult. Without planning, you will lose your legal authority.
My autistic loved one cannot safely make decisions at this time, what can I do? We encourage you to start making a list of what your autistic loved one can and cannot do. This list should also include medical, educational, financial, legal and vocational decisions and information. In addition, be sure to carefully assess his or her abilities to make rational decisions, choices related to self-care and to be able to communicate for him or herself. This is the starting point of what you will share with your Florida estate planning attorney as you begin to think about the authority you need as a part of the guardianship process.
Is it possible for the Florida court to consider a less restrictive guardianship since my loved one can make some decisions? Yes, the court can. The key to guardianship is ensuring that your loved one is safe. Although you may be tempted not to proceed to obtain guardianship over your autistic child, we would encourage you to talk to your Florida estate planning attorney first. You do not want to be in the situation in the future where a decision needs to be made that requires legal authority, and you do not have it.
Do I need a backup guardian? Yes, you should definitely discuss with your Florida attorney who can take over your guardianship role when/if you can no longer handle the responsibility. With your Florida attorney, you can create the legal documents you need together with a letter of intent. This letter is a document that will act as a roadmap for guardians and trustees to navigate medical, financial and legal decisions once you are no longer able to act.
What is a special needs trust? There are different types of special needs trusts you can create for an autistic person. A key benefit of special needs trust planning is it allows the disabled person to not lose access to key government benefits, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). If your autistic loved one inherits directly, without a special needs trust in place, your loved one could be at risk of losing his or her benefits until the money received is spent down on his or her care.

The basic principle to follow in planning for a loved one with autism is to ensure he or she has enough support throughout the remainder of his or her life. Ensuring your loved one is taken care of, even when you can no longer be there to assist, is critical. Do not wait for a crisis to plan forward with your Florida estate planning attorney.

We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

Key Items To Consider Before Choosing A Nursing Home

Do you have an aging loved one who may need a nursing home soon? Are you wondering how to even start selecting one? How do you decide on the best place for your loved one? Are you worried about locating a nursing home that will take the very best care of your loved one?

To begin, skilled nursing facilities, commonly called nursing homes, are residential care facilities that provide around-the-clock medical care and supervision to seniors. The seniors in these facilities need help with daily living activities, such as bathing, dressing, and medication management. We would like to go over key items that you should be aware of and for you to consider before you choose a nursing home:

Be aware that there are different levels of care: Nursing homes offer different levels of care, from short-term rehabilitation to long-term care for residents with chronic conditions.
It is vital that the staff is qualified: Nursing homes are staffed by trained healthcare professionals, including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants.
There are a wide variety of services available: Nursing homes provide a range of services, including medical care, medication management, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and social activities.
The cost of care should be planned in advance whenever possible: Nursing homes are expensive, and the cost varies depending on the level of care and location. Some nursing homes accept Medicare or Medicaid, while others are private pay.
The quality of care is very important, as well as, the quality of the overall facility and services: The quality of nursing homes can vary widely and it is important to research and visit facilities before making a decision.
It is important to know that there are state and federal regulations: Nursing homes are regulated by state and federal agencies, and must meet certain standards of care and safety.
Be aware that the residents do have rights: Residents of nursing homes have certain legal rights, including the right to privacy, dignity, and quality care.

When you review these key items you will be equipped with the knowledge to help make sure that the facility your loved one moves into knows and understands how to rightly protect aging seniors. Most importantly, when you visit your loved one you can observe whether the nursing home is caring properly for their aging and frail residents. With the health and well-being of vulnerable loved ones at stake, it is vital that you look out for bedsores and neglect when you visit.

Another key point is that if you suspect an aging loved one is suffering from neglect or bedsores in a nursing home, it is highly recommended that you speak with your Florida elder law attorney to do something about it. Do not wait. If you have any questions, do not wait to contact our law office to ask them.

We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

Protecting Your Digital Assets As Part Of Your Estate Planning

Did you know that when you begin creating your comprehensive Florida estate plan that you can include your digital assets? Your digital assets could include a range of electronic records, including everything from social media accounts to digital photos, to email, to online accounts. In addition, have you thought about whether you need to protect your digital assets? Do you know how to protect them? Part of securing your digital assets may be planning for the future with your Florida estate plan. Did you know that digital assets can be included in your estate planning? The following recommendations may help you know how to include digital assets in your estate plan while, in the meantime, keeping them secure.

The protection and preservation of all your passwords is critical in addressing the security of your digital assets. It can be very difficult to keep track of all of the different passwords you use to access your different accounts on a frequent basis. One recommendation to help you keep track of your passwords would be to make a written list and keep it in a locked desk drawer, lock box or home safe. Next, we recommend that this list be kept where you can access it frequently for whenever you need to make updates to your list. Another recommendation is that the passwords you choose should be strong and not easily guessed. In addition, it is recommended that you should change your passwords often, even if only once a year. Be vigilant in checking on your digital assets to ensure your passwords have not been compromised. If they have, update them immediately.

So, is it possible to have your digital assets as part of your estate plan? Yes. There are digital assets that are financial, like a digital Paypal, Venmo, or bitcoin account. Some digital assets are sentimental, like a collection of photographs or videos of your children and grandchildren. We recommend that you have a trusted person who will be able to access these assets after you pass away. We recommend that you pick a “password person” who can be trusted with your password information and keep this trusted person informed of where you keep your password list so he or she can access it when the time comes. When working with your Florida estate planning attorney, you may wish to detail who should have access to your digital assets when you create your Florida will, or leave your personal representative instructions in regard to your passwords.

We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.

Prenuptial Agreements and How They Affect Your Estate Plan

Are you and your future spouse considering remarriage? As you both look at your assets and your children from former marriages, are you wondering about a prenuptial agreement, but not sure how it would help? In addition, are you wondering whether you need to look at your Florida estate plan and determine whether a prenuptial would help or hinder your estate plan? These are all good questions to ask, contemplate and find answers before you remarry. Let us share some answers with you.

To begin, a prenuptial agreement is a contract between two parties who intend to marry. This contract will outline exactly what property the parties agree to keep as separate, non-marital property and how that property will be divided in the event of a dissolution of the marriage or the death of a spouse. Now, a prenuptial agreement should not have a negative connotation because entering into a prenuptial agreement does not mean you do not have faith in your upcoming marriage or want to plan for a divorce. Let us share with you two reasons why a prenuptial agreement is important.

The first and main reason to enter into a prenuptial agreement is that then you and your future spouse can outline how your own property will pass when you die if you have children outside the marriage. In most states, if you have a surviving spouse, you cannot leave all of your estate to your children. It does not matter what your will says; the surviving spouse typically can elect to disregard the will and inherit up to one-half of the estate, depending on the state’s laws. A prenuptial agreement governing the distribution of assets can help to ensure that your property passes to your children and your surviving spouse in the proportions that you desire rather than the proportions outlined in your state’s laws.
A second reason for entering into a prenuptial agreement is that you want to dictate to whom you wish to leave valuable assets acquired prior to the marriage. If you do not have a prenuptial agreement, those assets may become part of your estate that can be inherited by your spouse upon your death. If your desire is to leave those assets to someone other than your spouse, your will or trust alone may not be enough because of the rights given to spouses under the laws of most states. Therefore, including that information in a prenuptial agreement can help ensure those assets pass in the way in which you intend.

Most importantly, if you are marrying, or remarrying, we highly recommend that you consult a qualified Florida estate planning attorney. She will be experienced in these issues so that you can be certain you incorporate a prenuptial agreement into your estate planning.

We know this article may raise more questions than it answers. Elder and Estate Planning Attorneys, PA, is a law office small enough to provide personal service but large enough to provide service in Jupiter, as well as Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties in Florida. Our law firm will guide you through legal challenges involving elder law, estate planning, trusts, veterans benefits, real estate, and more. We encourage you to contact us and schedule a meeting with our attorneys.