Choosing a will or a living trust
By Spiro Verras
A will and a living trust can both express your care for the people who matter to you. They do some of that work at different times and through different procedures. Understanding those differences makes the choice more manageable.
Most trust-based plans...
Designating a Healthcare Surrogate in Florida
By Spiro Verras
Choosing a health care surrogate gives someone you trust a clear role in your medical care. It also gives you an opportunity to discuss your values, the information you want shared, and the decisions you would want help making. This can be useful at any...
Estate Planning for the Single Parent
By Spiro Verras
Single-parent families have many different arrangements. Some parents share responsibilities with another legal parent; others are the child's primary or only available caregiver. An estate plan should reflect your actual family and help the people you trust provide continuity if you become unable to act.
Address...Selecting a Guardian Requires Careful Consideration
By Spiro Verras
Choosing a proposed guardian is a thoughtful way to plan for your child's care if an appointment ever becomes necessary. The decision deserves attention, but it need not be made through fear. Begin with the people who know your child and would be willing and...
Make Estate Planning Your New Year’s Resolution
By Spiro Verras
A new year can be a useful time to turn a good intention into a practical step. Estate planning belongs on that list because it helps you clarify your wishes, choose trusted helpers, and make important information easier for your family to find.
You do not...
The Nexus of Digital Assets and Estate Planning
By Spiro Verras
Photographs, email, documents, online businesses, and financial accounts often have a substantial digital presence. Planning for those assets involves two different questions: who has legal authority to act, and how that person can obtain the access needed to do the job.
Florida's Fiduciary Access to Digital...
A Childless Single’s Guide to Estate Planning
By Spiro Verras
Estate planning matters just as much when you are single and do not have children. It lets you choose who can help during an illness, who should receive your property, and which people or causes you want to support. The plan can reflect the family...
Common Estate Planning Mistakes
By Spiro Verras
Estate planning brings several everyday decisions together: Who can help you, who should inherit, and how your property and documents support those choices. Useful online information can help you prepare for a conversation, while advice tailored to your circumstances helps you decide what to do....
Why Young Parents Need an Estate Plan
By Spiro Verras
Welcoming a child brings new routines, responsibilities and hopes for the future. Estate planning can help you turn those hopes into practical arrangements for care, financial support and trusted decision-making. You do not need a large estate to make that work worthwhile.
Plan for care and...Improvements in Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples
By Spiro Verras
Marriage equality brought significant improvements to estate planning for same-sex couples. Married couples can plan within the same framework of spousal rights and responsibilities, while still accounting for the needs of their particular family. The legal recognition of a marriage is important, but it does...