The 5th of May is finally upon us and although Cinco de Mayo is not widely celebrated in Mexico, it is the most celebrated holiday of Mexican culture in the U.S. Even though 1 in 4 South Floridians are Hispanic, everyone will probably be enjoying a little bit of salsa, margaritas, and cheesy enchiladas.

Here’s some more food for thought to add to your fiesta menu- estate planning.

Unfortunately, estate planning rarely gets the attention it deserves. One day we are all going to die and it is important to determine what will subsequently happen to all the assets that we own.

First of all, every South Floridian should have a will. This is especially true if you are married and have minor children. Your will not only stipulates the distribution of all your assets but also appoints a trusted guardian to look after your little ones when you pass away.

What will happen if you become seriously injured or incapacitated? You need a living will and medical directives to express your wishes to stay on life support or end all artificial means of living.

You can spice up your plan by reducing estate taxes, insulating your assets from creditor claims, and ensuring smooth transfer of property through trust formation and administration.

Estate planning is a complex field of law. It is important to contact a highly skilled South Florida estate planning attorney. You will learn about the necessary tools and strategic ways in protecting your assets you probably never thought possible. Don’t be surprised if your reaction is something like “Holy Guacamole! I should have done this sooner!”

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

We’re all familiar with the ever popular Archie Comic book series. However, it’s a shame that the company is now subjected to bitter legal disputes between co-owners, Ms. Silberkleit and Mr. Goldwater, daughter in law and son of two original founders, respectively. Both have very different plans for the future of Archie and lack of common ground is disintegrating their work relationship. Ms. Silberkleit has an injunction issued against her from speaking publicly about the company and Mr. Goldwater has a defamation lawsuit on his back. Both parties have seemingly irreconcilable differences resulting in costly legal expenses, all which could have been avoided by a Business Succession Plan.

The founders of Archie, Louis H. Silberkleit and John L. Goldwater forgot that their business could well have been the largest asset they left their family. A good succession plan could have avoided the flaming legal contentions between the current CEO’s and safeguarded the future of the comic book empire. A crucial thing to consider is who will be the successor of the business. Two leaders of a company that continuously butt heads is unhealthy for the business. Other important affairs to consider are whether you want to keep certain relatives from inheriting your company, how to protect your children, what will happen to your business partners, and what the worth of your business is.

With a solid business succession plan in place, you can be sure of timely settlement of the estate after you are gone, avoid probate, and eliminate estate tax. Also, a solid plan ensures an agreeable price for a partner’s share of the business and ease of life insurance policy payouts. You can avoid liquidity issues and time constraints. This can prevent cash flow problems and the need to sell the business.

Learn from this Archie crisis. Avoid toxic family disputes and legal battles by preparing your South Florida Business Succession Plan today!

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

Today is Emancipation Day which is a holiday observed in Washington D.C. that marks the anniversary of the signing of the Compensated Emancipation Act, which Abraham Lincoln signed back in 1862. The Act had to do with the emancipation of slaves of African origin. Thanks to Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation soon followed.

However, today there is another form of emancipation we need to observe. It has less to do with “political emancipation” and more to do with “financial emancipation.” A properly designed South Florida asset protection plan will accomplish many important objectives. You will be able to free your loved ones from the burdens of heavy taxation by reducing your estate tax. You can eliminate probate. You may be able to protect your family savings and investments from lawsuits and claims.

With a solid South Florida estate plan drafted by your qualified South Florida estate planning attorney, you can protect against inadequate or unavailable insurance coverage. You should consider insulating your rental properties to reduce your exposure to potential lawsuits. You may also be able to protect your business assets and accounts receivable from potential claims.

There is so much you can do to help your family enjoy financial freedom when you are gone. Learn about proper will drafting, trust administration, and the probate process in order to have your intentions fully carried out and your family fully protected.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

So, the Internal Revenue Service extended the deadline to file your 2011 tax returns for an additional two days. April 15 falls on a Sunday followed by Emancipation day on Monday. So for the procrastinators in South Florida, you are saved.

Unfortunately, when it comes to estate planning, you can’t take a holiday from death or request an extension. Procrastination can have deadly financial effects on your family if you keep making excuses or finding distractions to prolong this crucial process.

It is easy to neglect this concept now especially when we’re too busy filling out our 1040 forms. But doesn’t the pain of increasing income tax just make your head spin with thoughts of tax and more tax? Think about it for a minute. Although, Florida does not require state income tax, homeowners must pay property taxes. Also, Florida has a general sales tax of 6 percent. Don’t forget capital gains tax.

People rarely stop to consider another very important category of taxes.

Federal Estate Tax.

This is a tax imposed on property passed from deceased individuals to their heirs or beneficiaries. In 2011, estates worth more than $5 million were prey to Uncle Sam’s hungry appetite for freshly picked greens. However, although frequently overlooked, estate tax can be substantially reduced with the guidance of a highly qualified and experienced South Florida estate planning attorney.

South Floridians have to pay enough taxes. Why carry an additional burden when you might not have to? Without a proper plan, family members will be financially drained. The Fort Lauderdale law firm of Wild, Felice and Partners employs a wide array of successful techniques including trust formation, insurance benefits protection, and charitable gifting to strategically limit heavy taxation and save your loved ones hundreds of thousands of dollars.

While you may never get out of paying your income tax, you may get out of paying too much estate tax. But you have to act fast or you could end up taking a permanent vacation from life… leaving your loved ones in despair.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

Today, President Barack Obama kicked off the annual White House Easter Egg Roll with First Lady Michelle. Youngsters had a blast participating in the traditional egg-rolling races, obstacle courses, as well as other fun-filled sports and crafts. While egg hunts may be fun on the South Lawn, what your kids will not have fun doing is hunting for important estate planning documents once you are gone.

For those in South Florida who are not interested in playing hide and seek, it’s important to have original estate planning documents such as your will, stored in a safe and accessible place. Somewhere in your home or office that is protected from fire, floods, and South Florida hurricanes is suitable. A personal safe is commonly used; however, be sure to entrust the right person with the location of the safe and combination to the lock.

However, if you plan on using a safe deposit box, you might want to consider retitling it into the name of your Revocable Living Trust if the box is titled in your name only. This way, your successor trustee will be able to gain immediate access to your box without having to obtain a court order to open it. You can also include a trusted joint owner to the title to carry out your estate planning wishes.

Finally, your South Florida estate planning attorney should retain signed copies of all your estate planning documents. In the event your original documents are accidently destroyed, the documents can be recreated and everything can be resigned. This will destroy the presumption that you intended to destroy the documents if the originals cannot be found at the time of your death.

What might work on the South Lawn might not work in South Florida. Save your loved ones the trouble of hunting down your original legal documents and contact your South Florida estate planning attorney for more information today!

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?

This holiday weekend many South Floridians will be getting together with family members to celebrate Easter and Passover 2012. Organizing family gatherings, preparing lavish meals, and participating in special songs and customs will be the focus of attention. Children in particular will be anticipating customary gifts.

If you’re struggling in preparing the perfect Easter basket for your little ones, here’s something to consider. There is nothing sweeter than the types of gifts that come from thoughtfully planning your South Florida estate plan.  For example, your will and living trusts are ideal vehicles in properly transferring assets to your children. Not even chocolate bunnies or candied eggs can compete with that.

There is so much to consider in such legacy planning that only a highly experienced and knowledgeable South Florida estate planning attorney can effectively guide you through this complex process. You might have family-owned businesses, retirement plans, and a life insurance policy. What about asset protection from creditor claims, special needs planning, trust administration, Florida probate and financial planning? You are not alone. Help is just a phone call away.

However, once you set up your solid estate plan, assets must be titled into trusts and periodically updated to reflect life changes such as marriage, birth of a new child, or divorce. If you already have one in place but neglected it for a few years, then it is time to resurrect your estate plan and review it with your attorney to account for all necessary changes, both personal and legal.

The best part is that estate planning is kosher and chametz-free. Sitting at the Seder table with the knowledge that you have provided for the future financial needs of you loved ones and ensured that your assets are ultimately distributed as you intend is a satisfying and rewarding feeling. After all, you never know when you will be having that Last Supper with your family. 

Time is never on our side so taking immediate action is a key ingredient to estate planning. Contacting your estate planning attorney not only gives you a peace of mind but also can reduce estate taxes for your family thus leaving them more and less to Uncle Sam.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world.  Are you protected?

Bruce Willis, 57, and his wife Emma Heming, 33 welcomed their new baby girl this weekend after being married for three years. Mabel Ray Willis is the Bruce’ s fourth child and Emma’s first. Willis has three more daughters from his 13-year marriage to first wife Demi Moore.

Willis has experienced substantial life changes that he should account for in his estate planning.  After all, one day he might just “Die Hard.” Protecting his new wife and baby should be high on his priority list.

With Willis’s divorce from Demi Moore in 2000, new marriage to Emma Heming in 2009, and the recent birth of his new baby, Bruce should consider updating his estate plan if he has not already done so.

Following the dissolution of marriage, it is easy to neglect one’s estate plan especially amid emotional and economic fallout during property division, child custody, and spousal support.

Bruce should begin his estate plan modifications by revising his will. He should reconsider his asset distribution and personal representative appointment. He should include Mabel Ray in his will otherwise he could unintentionally disinherit her. He can rewrite the terms of his will or execute a special addendum called a “codicil.”

If his estate is more trust–based, he should review the terms of any trusts established before or during his marriage to determine what changes will be necessary in order to include Emma and baby Mabel. He might want to add them as beneficiaries of his estate. He might want to exclude Demi from his life insurance and make sure the new women in his life will be the recipients of his death benefits.

Updating your estate plan is crucial especially after major changes in life such as divorce, marriage, and birth of a new child. It is of vital importance to take prompt, proactive measures and visit your South Florida estate planning attorney to ensure your intentions are fully carried out in the disposition of your assets.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world.  Are you protected?

A guy walks into a bar with a new boost of confidence. He just found out that his 80-year-old father would be passing away in a few months leaving him a princely inheritance. He looks around the room and locks eyes with a stunning blue-eyed blonde. He knows he doesn’t stand a chance. However, he musters up some courage, walks right up to her, and says, “I may not look like much now, but soon my father will pass away and I will become a millionaire. Can I take you to dinner tonight?” Impressed, the woman agrees. Two weeks later, she becomes his stepmother.

Clearly, women are much better at estate planning than men!

Happy April Fools’ Day!

On a more sobering note, estate planning is no joke. Death is an equal opportunity taker. It does not discriminate based on sex, age, race, or wealth. One day we will all die. However, when that day will come we don’t know. However, we are all armed with the foresight to plan ahead and obviate disastrous consequences by getting our estate plans set in place. This way, we can be sure our family is well protected and taken care of after we join the ranks of the dearly departed.

The law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. is dedicated in providing valued knowledge and trusted experience of a large law firm but with a client focused approach and protective instinct only a small firm can offer. With expertise and compassion, we focus on the dynamic relationship between our clients and their families.

Early estate planning can save family members from overwhelming stress and emotional ordeal. It can also save loved ones hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why subject them to heavy and unnecessary burdens when they will be consumed with mourning and coping with the reality of your loss? Invest in their future by calling our South Florida estate planning firm today.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world.  Are you protected?

With the brand new ipad’s high-resolution top retina display and improved graphics hardware, no wonder sales are astronomically rising. Everyone just has to have the new ipad. Steve Jobs is probably beaming from the grave.

There is something else Jobs is probably smiling at- his estate plan. The Apple co-founder was not only a brilliant innovator and businessman but he was brilliant in employing estate-planning attorneys to guide him in how best to protect his estimated $7 billion fortune.  He took advantage of techniques and strategies to ensure his family would be well provided for in the event of his death. We all know Jobs was a very private man. That’s why he chose to establish trusts such as living trusts, charitable trusts, and marital trusts to preserve his assets, protect his family, and minimize estate taxes. Unlike wills, a trust is the ideal vehicle in ensuring the privacy of one’s assets. Wills must pass through probate court, which opens the estate, and become public record. However, a trust avoids probate only for assets put into the trust.

The key to correctly using a trust is to fund it with assets. In 2009, both he and his wife transferred three real estate properties into two different trusts.  Jobs was also the largest single shareholder of Disney and it’s purported that he received millions of dollars in dividends since 2006. He most likely made the wise decision to fund the stocks into a living trust as well.

If he had not engaged in proper estate planning, Jobs would have subjected his loved ones to the burden of paying more than $2 billion in estate tax! He played it smart and got his estate plan in place. You can do the same in South Florida.

To know one’s family is well protected is definitely something worth smiling about from the other side.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world.  Are you protected?

Kim Kardashian just can’t get out of the spotlight these days. She recently got flour bombed on the red carpet at her fragrance launch, which came as a shock to all onlookers. It probably had something to do with an angry PETA activist. Another bomb Kardashian took not too long ago concerned her very short marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries that lasted only 72 days. To avoid a third bomb, she should consider estate planning if she has not already done so.

Even short marriages necessitate updating wills and other estate planning documents.

When a major event in life happens, such as a marriage or birth of a child, then a will should be updated to reflect the intentions of the decedent in how assets should be distributed. For example, if you do not want to give any assets to your new spouse or a new child, then the will should be updated to explicitly state this.

Kardashian’s divorce is yet another major life event making it crucial to update estate planning documents. People usually do not want their ex-spouse to inherit anything. Even if Kim married Kris for publicity, she might marry again and decide Kris should get nothing. Taking the time to update her will would save an immense amount of confusion and litigation if she were to die. Ideally, a will should be updated before a divorce is finalized. Why you ask? Consider this. If a spouse passes away during divorce many states will treat that person as still married and allow the ex-spouse-to-be, to inherit a portion of the estate even if the spouse is not mentioned in the will.

When your life changes, it’s important to keep your estate plan up to date to reflect these important changes or you might just get doused in a powder of probate mess.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and probate techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world.  Are you protected?