Estate Planning for residents of Florida is as important as ever. Not only can estate planning frequently save a great deal in taxes, but proper documentation can save loved ones tremendous grief. Over the years of practicing law, an estate planner sees some "horror" situations that create anxiety and unnecessary grief for families. This is not an area to be penny wise and dollar foolish due to lack of basic documentation.

Classic estate planning includes wills and trusts. If your plan is several years old, it may be limited to those documents. You probably have an estate plan that holds your assets in a Revocable Trust; however there are plenty of ways that your inheritance can be lost by those for whom it is intended to help! Unfortunately, the realities of life are never predictable. For example, your daughter who is a doctor loses a medical malpractice lawsuit and the patient takes everything or your son becomes embroiled in an ugly divorce and the ex-wife claims half of his inheritance. The future is unpredictable and we should plan for the unexpected. This way, you and your family are saved from the unnecessary stress. Therefore, it is important to set up an "asset protection" or "spendthrift" trust, a trust that protects these hard-earned assets from going to anyone other than your intended beneficiaries.

Say you have a cookie jar full of cookies. In a traditional estate plan, on your death, the cookies are divided equally among your children. They can do with them what they want. They can also lose them in a lawsuit, a divorce, a bankruptcy or a bad business deal.

In an asset protection trust, the cookies are kept in a cookie jar after your death, but the jar is protected by lock and key. The responsible child -- the sole trustee in this example -- has the key and may dole out cookies as he or she sees fit (to the child or the child's children). But the cookies can't be taken away. The money will stay in the family, going to help your children or grandchildren live a good life.

In a spendthrift trust, with co-trustees, the jar is locked with two keys. One is held by the child who you may feel is not as responsible with money as he or she should be. The other is held by a trusted attorney, accountant, bank trust company or other trusted advisor. The money is usually designated to be used for such purposes as health, education, maintenance and support.

The techniques are simple, yet offer the protection you want. And such trusts may be set up easily and inexpensively. In many cases, it involves a simple amendment to the estate plan you already have. Such trusts may also be established for the assets you may want to gift to your children or grandchildren during your lifetime. Please contact us or come in for a review of your estate planning, we would be more than happy to go over your estate planning with you. It is for your family's security and peace of mind.