Category: Estate Planning

By Spiro Verras

Artwork, jewelry, antiques, real estate, and closely held business interests may carry both financial and personal value. Unlike cash, they may be difficult to divide or sell promptly. Including them deliberately in your estate plan can help the people who will one day manage or...

By Spiro Verras

Dividing your time between Florida and another state can be a pleasure, but it also makes coordination important. A second home, financial accounts, and documents prepared elsewhere should be reviewed as parts of one plan.

Distinguish residence from domicile

You may have more than one residence, but...

By Spiro Verras

Estate planning gives you an opportunity to think about the future you want for your family and put practical arrangements in place. Starting before an urgent health event allows more time to consider choices, ask questions, and coordinate the details. If planning has become urgent,...

By Spiro Verras

You do not need to know legal terminology before starting an estate plan. Understanding a few common terms can make the conversation easier and help you ask questions about how the documents will work.

Will and testator

A will gives instructions for property passing through your probate...

By Spiro Verras

Real estate can be a significant part of a family's wealth and a significant part of the work needed to settle an estate. The plan should address who will own the property, who can manage it, whether it should be retained or sold, and the...

By Spiro Verras

A stepchild can be every bit as important to you as any other family member. Your estate plan should make that intention clear because the legal meaning of words such as child and descendant may not match the way your family uses them.

Do not rely...

By Spiro Verras

When Anthony Bourdain died in June 2018, public attention turned to his family and the arrangements he had made for them. Contemporary Associated Press reporting on his filed will described instructions concerning his daughter, personal possessions, and an easily overlooked item: accumulated frequent flyer miles.

That...

By Spiro Verras

When a spouse is not a U.S. citizen, estate planning should address the special federal tax rules for transfers between spouses. Citizenship, domicile and the location of property are distinct questions. Being born outside the United States does not by itself mean that someone is...

By Spiro Verras

In a blended family, an estate plan often needs to care for a surviving spouse while also honoring commitments to children from earlier relationships. Those goals can fit together, but the details deserve a clear conversation and coordinated documents.

Start with the people and the property

Identify...

By Spiro Verras

Cryptocurrency belongs in your estate-planning conversation just as other property does. A useful plan addresses ownership, legal authority, and the practical ability to access the assets. Missing any one of those pieces can make administration difficult.

Identify how the assets are held

Some owners use an exchange...