Spiro J. Verras Blog

After a person passes away, the assets in their estate will be distributed according to the terms they have set forth in their will. Should a person pass away without a will, they are said to have died “intestate.” Without a will, the estate assets will be distributed according to state intestacy laws. Generally speaking, Florida’s intestacy laws direct that the decedent’s closest relatives inherit from a deceased individual’s estate and more distant relatives may inherit depending on what relatives survive the decedent. If there are no known living relatives of a person who has died intestate, their assets will escheat, or “pass,” to the State of Florida.
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If you have heard anything about the Florida probate process, it is likely to not have been something good. You may have heard how long and complicated the process can be. You may have heard how frustrating and expensive it can get.
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At this point in time, most people have digital assets. Our digital lives continue to grow and, with that, so do the digital assets we need to account for in our estate plans. Cryptocurrency, for instance, has not existed for very long, but continues to grow in popularity.
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In developing your estate plan, there are a number of dilemmas you may face. Yes, you may want to leave certain financial resources to your loved ones, but you may worry about where that money will go, how it will be spent, and when it will be spent. These are natural concerns. You are, after all, worrying about your legacy and what your legacy will be supporting. Fortunately, you can use an incentive trust to help ensure the money you leave to your loved ones go to supporting goals and achievements you would have wanted to support for your loved ones.
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You may have been resistant to the idea of a trust. After all, trusts involve some complex ideas and concepts. It can be difficult to wrap your ahead around let along figure out the right trust to establish to help further your goals and protect a future you want for you and your loved ones. After much investigating, you may have settled on setting up an irrevocable trust. After all, the benefits of an irrevocable trust are undeniable.
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A trust is created and funded by a trustor and is managed for the benefit of the beneficiaries by an appointed trustee. A trustee is either a person or an institution tasked with managing a trust. The trust document will, among other key terms of the trust, establish who is to be the trustee.

Being a trustee is a role rife with responsibility. The duties of a trustee are numerous and are not to be taken lightly.
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Your kids may get older, go off to college, and onto the real world, but they will always be your kids no matter what. Some of you may be spending the summer getting your son or daughter ready to move to college in the fall. It is an exciting time and you likely have an extensive to-do list. Be sure that seeing a trusted Read more . . .

A recent study released by Caring.com reveals that only about one-third of Americans have an estate plan in place. Based on surveys gathered by the senior living referral service, the study concluded that close to two-thirds of people in the U.S. have the vital legal protections that are established in a comprehensive estate plan.
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You may have heard of the many potential benefits of including a trust in your estate plan. Are you worried about probate? A trust can be a great way to avoid it! Are you worried about your beneficiary’s ability to manage an inheritance? A trust can pace and condition distributions to protect the inheritance from being quickly spent away.

If you have decided to establish a trust, one of the big decisions you will need to make is who to appoint as trustee.
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One of the benefits of planning ahead is the ability to anticipate certain consequences and put tools in place to avoid them accordingly. Estate planning, for instance, often involves significant transfers of asset ownership, all of which can have profound tax consequences. Tax liability can take a big chunk of the value away from the assets you wish to transfer and, thus, it is important to be aware of what taxes may come into play in the estate planning realm.
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If you have never heard of a living trust, now is a great time to learn. A useful estate planning tool, a living trust is, aside from a Last Will and Testament, one of the most commonly used mechanisms for transferring assets to your family and loved ones upon your passing away. For a full picture of a living trust, we are going to take a look at the upsides and downsides of a living trust.
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