Melbourne, Florida, Trust, Estate Planning And Probate Law Blog

Confronting one's own mortality isn't pleasant, but taking steps now can ensure that one's relatives receive the inheritance one chooses for them. Estate planning can also help a person set guidelines for how they want affairs to be handled in the event that they become ill and incapacitated. Changing technology means that a person may also want to set policies for how digital accounts are handled after death. In Florida, there are a few common items on the estate planning checklist. 

First, a durable power of attorney can help individuals manage their property and bank accounts in the event that they are not able to. Finances, taxes and other monetary issues can be handled by the power of attorney that one chooses in the document. An advanced health care directive, often accompanied by a medical power of attorney, sets guidelines about one's health wishes. Whether one wants to be kept alive through heroic measures or not will be decided in the health care directive and implemented by the medical power of attorney.

If you're an avid golfer or love participating in your community's events, then you may be someone who wants to give to charity following your death. Whether or not your family agrees with your decision, this is something that could give you great peace. You love knowing that you're leaving something for others who may need it more than those you're closest to.

Creating your legacy doesn't have to cost everything you own, and you certainly still have the potential to leave plenty to your relatives. Here's what to do if you're thinking about donating to a charity upon death.

No one wants to feel like they inherited a mess. Whether physical or financial, the mess can be daunting to a person who is sorting through it while grieving. An individual who wishes to offer a cleaned-up, easy-to-sort-through estate to their heirs may benefit from the estate planning tip to organize and streamline the process. Florida residents can apply several strategies to avoid leaving a messy estate. 

In Sweden, there is a part of the culture known as Swedish Death Cleaning. As they get to age 50 or so, individuals will often start to pare down the physical clutter in their lives in order to live more simply and also to avoid leaving a mountain of things behind for heirs to sort through. Many people today wish to have less stuff in their lives, and objects that a person may be saving for children or grandchildren simply aren't wanted.

Imagine the frustration that can come with not being able to locate an important legal document when it is needed. Amplify that frustration when the document is found, but is either out of date, incorrect or an unauthorized copy. Estate blunders such as these can provoke feelings of frustration, confusion and anxiety for successors and heirs when the time comes to administer one's estate. In Florida, a trust or a will must be kept up to date to avoid common problems that can confuse or slow down the administration process. 

There are a few scenarios that can quickly muddle the process. In one situation, an old, out-of-date trust was preserved, but the new trust was not immediately found. The successor began to administer the estate by using the old document, and then the new one was located. She had wasted significant time and legal fees in administering the out-of-date document, which could have been avoided if she had the correct item in the first place.