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Home >> Can Florida Trust Law Help Enhance Your Estate Plan?

Can Florida Trust Law Help Enhance Your Estate Plan?

January 23, 2017 by Robert Kulas.

Before you decide to use just a Last Will and Testament for your estate planning needs, consider all your options. Thanks to Florida trust law, a trust may be just the solution you need to meet your planning objectives.One of the most difficult challenges any of us face is the need to properly plan for the distribution of our assets when we die. End-of-life and estate planning concerns often tend to go unaddressed by most people, since they usually involve subjects that most of us would rather avoid. The problem is that those subjects cannot easily be ignored, since either we or our heirs will eventually have to confront them. For most people, then, the choice comes down to deciding whether we take responsibility for how our estates get settled when we die, or whether we simply leave the problem to our surviving loved ones. If you want to avoid placing that burden on your family members, then it is important to know how Florida trust law can enhance your estate planning efforts.

Trust Law Provides You with Incredible Tools

Under Florida law, estate planning can offer a tremendous array of powerful tools. The trust is among the most useful, since it offers a wide assortment of benefits and flexible options that enable it to be used for many different planning needs. And while many people rely on trusts to minimize or control their tax obligations, the trust is much more than just a tool for tax avoidance. The fact is that your trust can provide your estate planning with the ideal solution to many complex issues.

There are, for example, the standard revocable trusts that more families are now relying on to ensure that their assets are distributed without the need for probate. These living trusts are becoming more popular as people discover that they provide a way for them to avoid probate while still maintaining control over the trust’s assets while they’re still alive. That’s a powerful feature that can help you to better organize your estate and plan for your own death without losing control over assets that you need to maintain your standard of living and pursue your financial goals.

But trusts can do much more than simply prepare for asset distribution without probate. The many different varieties of trust types in the marketplace today help to ensure that you can use a trust for many other important needs too, such as:

Spendthrift Trust. If you have heirs who have trouble managing money, or suffer from gambling problems or issues with creditors, you can use a spendthrift provision in your trust to ensure that those assets are protected against their bad habits and bad debts. That can allow you to protect the trust by ensuring that the inheritance you leave behind actually helps to benefit your loved one as intended.

Medicaid Trust. A trust can be an important part of Medicaid planning too. By transferring assets into an irrevocable trust that is designed to protect them from Medicaid eligibility calculations, you can ensure that those assets are safeguarded to benefit your heirs and loved ones.

Pet Trust. If you have pets, you might think that you can take care of them using your will. The problem is that you cannot leave money directly to an animal. Instead, you must leave it to a human who then uses it for that animal’s benefit. But since the Last Will and Testament doesn’t provide for any way to ensure that your pet’s guardian will follow your wishes, that makes it an inefficient tool for this need. With a trust, your trustee can be given authority to ensure that the money left for any pet’s care is used as directed.

Charitable Trusts: You can also utilize trusts to provide support to your preferred charities. There are different options here, including trusts that enable the trust’s beneficiaries to enjoy distributions from the trust for a period prior to the charity receiving the remaining assets, and a trust that reverses that distribution priority.

There are other trust types as well – too many to list here, in fact – but you get the picture. If you can think of a lawful estate planning need, chances are that there may be a trust that can be used to achieve your objectives. When you work with an experienced trusts attorney, he or she can help you determine which of your estate planning needs could benefit from this type of legal arrangement.

Trust Warnings

As with anything in life, there are some disadvantages as well. For example, your trust will cost more than a simple will, and it will also need to be funded properly if it is to accomplish your specific goals. An unfunded trust is essentially worthless and protects nothing, but many people still fail to ensure that their assets are properly transferred to their trusts. Since that process can sometimes be time-consuming and complex, it is often wise to have your trusts attorney provide guidance and assistance in any funding effort.

You should also be cognizant of the fact that Florida trust law doesn’t provide any way for creditors to be found and paid after the trustor dies. Instead, potential creditors can file estate claims as many as two years after you die. That can place your trustee in an awkward position, since he or she is unlikely to agree to disperse assets to heirs until that claims period has passed. To avoid that, you may want to provide instructions to have some type of probate opened as well, since that process only allows creditors three months to make any claims.

Get the Help You Need Today

At Robert J. Kulas, P.A., Medicaid & Estate Planning Attorneys, our trusts experts have the knowledge and experience you need to ensure that Florida trust law provides the benefits you deserve. We can help to review your individual circumstances and goals so that a comprehensive estate plan can be created to meet those objectives. Throughout it all, you can rest assured that your estate planning will be designed to accommodate your unique financial, retirement, and legacy goals – so that you can have the peace of mind that you deserve. To learn more about how we can help you, contact us online or call us today at (772) 398-0720.

Filed Under: Wills and Trusts

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We began our estate plan process in 2004 (12 years ago) and have been pleased with the periodic reviews we have gone through and when changes have been needed the firm has been thorough and professional in making those changes.

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I have known Robert Kulas for 20 years since I was co-executor for friends who had Mr. Kulas prepare a Trust for them. When I felt I needed a trust also, I came to him. I have always been completed satisfied with his work and that of his charming, competent staff.

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Mr. Kulas and his staff have been extremely helpful & knowledgeable for the over 3 years we have been associated. They are easy to talk to and explain everything without feeling rushed. Very competent and professional.

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I have worked with Mr. Kulas & staff before. And they are very professional. I am very satisfied with Mr. Kulas and his staff and give them the highest satisfaction and 5 star rating.

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Robert Kulas and staff made making a will an easy to understand process. They were very knowledgeable and attentive to my wishes. All my documents were provided in an organized binder which will be a great asset to my family. I would definitely recommend them.

~Krissy L
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Everyone treated us extremely well.  Robert explained how a trust works and the benefits of having one.  We decided to move forward and complete the process.  He was very kind and knowledgeable.  Julie was also very helpful and very patient with our questions.  We felt very comfortable with this firm handling our affairs.  We would highly recommend this firm to our friends and family.

~Janice M
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August 25, 2020
    

"Everyone treated us extremely well.  Robert explained how a trust works and the benefits of having one.  We decided to move forward and complete the process.  He was very kind and knowledgeable.  Julie was also very helpful and very patient with our questions.  We felt very comfortable with this firm handling our affairs.  We would highly recommend this firm to our friends and family."

Janice M
Client Review
August 25, 2020
    

Robert Kulas and staff made making a will an easy to understand process. They were very knowledgeable and attentive to my wishes. All my documents were provided in an organized binder which will be a great asset to my family. I would definitely recommend them.

Krissy L.
Client Review
August 25, 2020
    

I have worked with Mr. Kulas & staff before. And they are very professional. I am very satisfied with Mr. Kulas and his staff and give them the highest satisfaction and 5 star rating.

Leo C.
Client Review
August 25, 2020
    

Mr. Kulas and his staff have been extremely helpful & knowledgeable for the over 3 years we have been associated. They are easy to talk to and explain everything without feeling rushed. Very competent and professional.

Mildred W.
Client Review
August 25, 2020
    

I have known Robert Kulas for 20 years since I was co-executor for friends who had Mr. Kulas prepare a Trust for them. When I felt I needed a trust also, I came to him. I have always been completed satisfied with his work and that of his charming, competent staff.

Joan C.
Client Review
August 25, 2020
    

We began our estate plan process in 2004 (12 years ago) and have been pleased with the periodic reviews we have gone through and when changes have been needed the firm has been thorough and professional in making those changes.

L.G.K.
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