Can Proper Estate Planning Now Avoid Florida Probate Litigation Later?
Do you have a plan for how your Florida estate will be handled when you die? Maybe you are not sure what you need to properly plan your Palm Beach estate? Taking proper steps to planning your estate now can help you avoid needing Palm Beach probate litigators in the future.
If you are unsure about how or what you need to plan your Boca Raton estate, consider these 3 important estate planning documents.
- A Will
- Sometimes known as a Last Will and Testament, is an important document forestate planning in Florida.
- A Will is a document that permits the client, also known as a testator to decide how the distributon of assets in the estate will be handled after they die.
- The testator may also name a Personal representative of his or her estate in the Will.
- A person that dies without a will is said to have died intestate, in which case the assets of that Florida estate would automatically go to his or her heirs.
- A will is important beacause it allows YOU to choose the beneficiaries of YOU Restate, thus avoiding misinterpretation and costly probate litigation in the future.
- A Trust
- Trusts in Florida are documents that lay out directions on who will hold a persons assets after they die (the trustee), and how they are supposed to use those assets.
- A trustee in Palm Beach has duty to administer the trust fairly in accordance to the wishes of the deceased.
- Trustees in Florida also must provide a detailed accounting of how assets in the trust have been used and can be subject to litigation if they are found to haveadministered the trust poorly or incorrectly.
- A Power-of-Attorney
- A Power of Attorney is a document that allows a person to appoint someone to act as an agent on his or her behalf.
- A power of attorney can give the agent decision making powers to handle the affairs of a person after they become incapacitated.
- Powers of attorney have become a popular tool for people planning estates in Florida.
- Although Powers of attorney have gained popularity, they can become dangerous documents if the agent misuses his or her decision making power.
Although having a well thought out estate plan can help avoid problems down the road, issues still arise. Probate litigation in Palm Beach is a common occurrence.
To learn about the Top Ten Probate Mistakes follow this link Pankauski’s Top Ten Probate Mistakes