FLORIDA ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE LAW BLOG: February 2015

THE IMPORTANCE OF SELECTING THE RIGHT ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in Elective Share Trust,estate plan,Family Trust,florida estate planning,florida probate attorney,florida probate lawyer,Last Will and Testament,Revocable Trust,Sarasota attorney,Special Needs Trust

When creating a Trust it is important to understand the differences between the different types. Similar to a Power of Attorney or Health Care Surrogate they can range from simple to extremely complex. Most individuals are familiar with the terms "Family Trust" or "Marital Trust," but there are many different types that can be utilized as a part of your estate plan. The only rule is that if the trust benefits a spouse, “you must cause the trust to be included in the second spouse’s estate, for estate-tax purposes.” If it is not included in the second spouse’s estate, the assets would have the same basis as at the first spouse’s death. Trust options include, a Credit Shelter Trust, Special Needs Trust, Elective Share Trust, Trust for non-US spouse, Life Insurance Trust and Charitable Trusts. Credit Shelter Trust. A Trust created upon the first spouse's death to shelter a portion or all of their estate tax exemption amount. This makes...

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT AT DEATH - NEW POLICY

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss

The world’s most popular social network will now begin allowing its members to designate someone, a “legacy contact,” to manage parts of a decedents accounts posthumously. Members can also choose to have their presence deleted entirely. Previously, Facebook automatically froze the accounts of members it learned had died, angering some heirs who wanted to edit the deceased’s online presence. Following a trend, in 2013, Google began allowing its users to select digital heirs for its Gmail, cloud storage and other services, dubbed “inactive account managers.” Facebook legacy contacts will be able to manage accounts in a way that can turn the deceased person’s Facebook page into a kind of digital gravestone. Legacy contacts can write a post to display at the top of their friend’s memorialized profile page, change the friend’s profile picture, and even respond to new friend requests on behalf of the deceased. If granted prior permission, legacy...

SIGNS OF ELDER ABUSE

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in elder abuse,elder fraud,elder law,estate plan,florida estate planning,florida probate attorney,Florida Retirement,Last Will and Testament,post-marital agreement,Revocable Trust,Sarasota attorney

The first signs of elder financial abuse are easy to miss. Maybe there's a new, overeager "best friend" who gives off a strange vibe, excessive secrecy around a new friend, or paranoia or anger when talking about money. It is very rare to discover the sudden withdrawal of large sums of money. A perfect storm of factors make America's elderly the target of a fast-growing, insidious crime. Americans are living longer, and with the shift from pensions and toward retirement savings, they face an array of complex choices about what to do with their money. Making matters worse, as each year passes, their cognitive abilities tend to decline while the stakes of their money decisions get higher. Criminals always steal from where the money is, and scam artists always flock to wherever financial confusion can be found. MetLife estimates that older Americans are cheated out of $2.9 billion annually. In another study, one in 20 older adults report...