Avoiding probate, and when to use it
By Spiro Verras
A good estate plan makes life easier for the people you love. Sometimes that means arranging for property to pass through a trust or a beneficiary designation. Sometimes the structure and oversight of probate are exactly what a family needs. The useful question is how...
Privacy in the Sunshine State
By Spiro Verras
Privacy is a reasonable estate-planning goal. You may want your family’s inheritance arrangements, personal relationships, and financial details shared with the people who need them, without creating an unnecessary public record. Florida offers useful ways to plan for that, and understanding the limits helps you...
Who Needs a Florida Land Trust?
By Spiro Verras
A Florida land trust can be a useful way to hold real estate when privacy, shared ownership or continuity of title matters. Its value becomes clearer when you separate those goals from questions about taxes, creditors and inheritance.
The starting point is...
Resolving trust disagreements in Florida
By Spiro Verras
A trust disagreement often begins with a question that deserves a clear answer. A beneficiary may want to understand an expense, a proposed distribution, or the timing of the administration. Good records, timely advice, and a constructive conversation can help everyone identify what actually needs...
What Happens If You Forget to Fund Your Trust in Florida?
By Spiro Verras
Creating a revocable living trust is only part of the estate planning process. If you forget to fund your trust by transferring your assets into it, those assets may still have to pass through probate after your death, even though you created the...
What Happens to a Revocable Trust When the Grantor Dies?
By Spiro Verras
When the grantor of a revocable trust dies, the trust generally becomes irrevocable. Control passes to the successor trustee, who is responsible for managing the trust, paying valid debts and expenses when required, and distributing assets according to the trust’s instructions. A properly funded...
What Is a Pour-Over Will and How Does It Work With a Trust?
By Spiro Verras
A pour-over will directs the probate property covered by its terms to a trust, commonly a revocable living trust. It provides a coordinated destination for that property but does not override an effective beneficiary designation, survivorship arrangement or other nonprobate transfer.
Many Florida estate...
What Is a Testamentary Trust and How Does It Work in Florida?
By Spiro Verras
A testamentary trust is a trust created through your will that takes effect after your death. In Florida, these trusts are commonly used to manage and distribute assets for beneficiaries who may not be ready or able to handle an inheritance on their own.
Dynasty Trusts: Multigenerational Wealth Planning
By Spiro Verras
A dynasty trust is a long-term, irrevocable trust designed to preserve and manage wealth for several generations. When properly structured, it can reduce repeated transfer-tax exposure, protect trust assets, and establish rules for how descendants benefit from an inheritance.
Unlike an estate plan that...
Protecting Inheritance from a Child’s Divorce
By Spiro Verras
When a child receives an inheritance, many parents worry about what could happen if that child later divorces. In Florida, inherited assets are generally considered separate property, but that protection can disappear if the inheritance is mixed with marital assets or handled improperly. Careful...