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

Creating an estate plan is important, but so is keeping it safe. A person should understand the best way to keep his or her documents safe until they are needed. However, the manner in which they are stored should not be so safe that loved ones cannot access them in the future. Here are a few suggestions for protecting estate planning documents.

Florida movie fans might notice that safe deposit boxes might be popular choices in movies, but they are often ineffective in real life. This is because a person can give a trusted individual authority to access the box through the original estate planning documents, but that authorization is likely contained in the will, which is in the box. Having an inaccessible estate plan does not help anyone.

It may feel as if there a hundred tiny little decisions that must be made during estate planning. While the average person in Florida might start this process with the intention of giving every decision his or her full attention, it can be easy to start slacking a little as time moves forward. However, it is important to give each decision as much consideration as is appropriate, particularly when it comes to matters related to estate and trust administration.

Selecting a person to handle trust administration duties is a big decision. This person is responsible for managing the trust, distributing assets according to directions and even terminating the trust when necessary. This is an important role that should only be filled by a trustworthy individual or -- as some people choose -- a company or service. However, one out-of-state woman claims that the service her parents chose is refusing to follow their wishes.

Bitcoin and other types of cryptocurrency are often the first things that come to mind when people think about digital assets. Because investing in cryptocurrency is still not a mainstream activity, many people in Florida might think that they do not have any digital assets to protect. These individuals might not bring up digital assets at all when estate planning, or may address these assets in a manner not consistent with the law. Either of these actions can have unintended consequences.

Activities like listening to music, watching movies and even reading books are increasingly taking place in the digital world. Rather than having physical copies of these items, consumers can purchase digital copies that they can easily access and stream at virtually any location. While it might be easier than ever to access these forms of entertainment, it is much more difficult to pass them on to heirs.

Even though it is important for virtually everyone in Florida to have an estate plan, many people still think that they do not have enough wealth to warrant creating one. This is especially true when it comes to trusts. The less-than-accurate negative association of young adults living off inherited wealth makes some want to avoid the topic of trusts altogether. In reality, a trust can be a very useful estate planning tool.

Understanding what a trust is may help some people feel more open to the idea of creating one. A grantor is the person who creates the trust, which is considered its own legal entity. The grantor transfers property into the trust in order to benefit at least one beneficiary. The trust is managed according to a trust document, which is a set of rules created by the grantor. These rules can address things like under what conditions and when benefits can be paid out, and are carried out by a trustee who manages the trust.