Have you started your Florida estate planning yet?  Most people begin their estate planning with a will and consideration of the people and organizations who should be gifted their assets upon death.  But, many people tend to overlook several other important factors that should be included in your Florida will as well.

Opening probate on an estate in Florida consists of expenses that can be placed into two categories: Attorney’s fees andCosts associated with the probate proceeding.  Attorney’s fees are based on your agreement with your Florida probate attorney for the services he or she provides.  Typically, attorney’s will bill at a flat rate, on an hourly basis, or on a contingent basis depending on the aspects of your case.  With attorney’s fees, you will generally have a good estimate of exactly how much you will be paying after the Florida probate proceeding has commenced.

While most people list an individual person or trust as beneficiary to a life insurance policy, there are several ways that the proceeds from your Florida life insurance policy will be paid to your estate.  For example, if your listed beneficiary dies before you, you fail to list a beneficiary, or you list your estate as the beneficiary, then the life insurance will be an asset of your estate after death.

Sometimes, when clients are just beginning to initiate the probate process on a Florida estate, there can be issues deciding who should be the executor (or “personal representative”) of the estate.  These questions usually arise when there is no will, or the will does not specif icy who the personal representative should be.  If this is the case, the Florida Probate Code comes into play to determine who should assume the role.

We frequently receive questions from newly appointed trustees of Florida trustsasking what their new duties and responsibilities are in administering the trust.

The executor, or personal representative, of a Florida estate has a lot of responsibilities.  One of those responsibilities is to pay the debt of the decedent.  The personal representative has an obligation to pay the decedent’s administrative expenses and obligations to creditors that have filed creditor claims.

Creditor claims and disputes are almost always a common part in the probate process of a decedent’s estate. One of the most common questions we get regarding these claims is “what can the creditors go after?”  Luckily, not all assets listed on a probate inventory are subject to creditor claims.

The Florida Elective Share is a rule in the Florida Probate Code which provides that a surviving spouse may receive a fair share of their decedent’s estate.  This may be in direct conflict with the will, but the Elective Share rule will trump any will provision prepared by the decedent.  

In the unfortunate instances when Florida elders become mentally incapacitated, they will often need legal guardians. The rules of Florida Guardianship Law grant guardians a lot of power to act for the persons whom they are appointed to protect (called a “ward“). And, at the same time, these rules also remove some of the rights of the elder to act on his or her own behalf. Because this process grants so much power to the guardian, while leaving the ward so vulnerable to unscrupulous acts, it is usually best to appoint a loved one or close friend as a guardian to ensure the guardian acts in the ward’s best interest.

One of the most common trends in Florida estate planning is the preparation of, and planning for, the protection and administration of digital assets. For example, imagine that you converted all of your family photos and videos from the last 25 years to electronic computer files.  Perhaps they are stored on your computer or on a“cloud” account. Even more importantly, maybe you no longer have any of the original images or videos.  It is entirely possible that your family and loved ones will not be able to access these photos and videos without great delay and expense, if at all. This is only one of the many assets that take the digital form. For this reason, digital asset protection should be an essential part of your Florida estate planning.