Author: P42 Marketing

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

Estate planning with 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

Remarriage with adult children

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.

  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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!

Award for Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce Leadership Awards 2023: Small Business of the Year!

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.