Many of our regular Brevard County readers are also readers of the Orlando Sentinel. The newspaper recently ran a short advice column on how Florida residents can pass real estate on to their heirs.
Important documents to include in your estate plan
If you have not started the estate planning process, it is probably past time to check that off your to-do list. Whether you own a home in Cocoa or you are renting an apartment, an estate plan can benefit you. In reality, you do not need to possess high-value assests or have a lot of money to justify an estate plan. Preparing for the future is about making decisions that are right for you and your particular situation.
Estate planning . . . for Florida college students?
Spring break has come and gone for most Florida college students. But another annual rite is upon those who wish to become Florida college students: opening the letters of acceptance (or rejection) for high school seniors.
Consider the tax obligations of your heirs when leaving assets
As a parent, you likely love all your children equally and want that to be reflected in their inheritances. After all, one of the biggest fears that most people have when estate planning is unintentionally creating family conflict. Passing along assets in unequal measure can seem like favoritism, which can stir resentment.
Clear as mud: Probate fight over blues legend's estate drags on
During his 70 years, Muddy Waters was known for pioneering an electric form of the blues that influenced generations of musicians, including seminal rock icons Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. The blues legend left an untouchable musical legacy, but his financial legacy is being fought over in courts from Florida to Chicago.
Trusts: Protecting your assets and estate
Trusts are great for protecting your assets and making sure beneficiaries get what you'd like them to have from your estate. Trusts can protect your estate from high taxes and provide other benefits as well.
Thinking beyond death
Most Americans believe in an afterlife – a life after death. But “thinking beyond death” doesn’t refer to heaven or hell, it refers to estate plans that include more than distribution of your assets to your loved ones when you pass on. It refers to a plan that takes into account the very real possibilities that something will happen to cause you hardship while alive.
Heartbreaker: probate dispute complicates Tom Petty estate
If you drive northwest of Cocoa for about 160 miles, you’ll come to Tom Petty’s Florida birthplace. The legendary rocker was born in Gainesville back in 1950 and died a year and a half ago in his Los Angeles home of an accidental drug overdose.
