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Do You Know Where Your Assets Are Going? by Lesly Longa Vaillancourt

Do You Know Where Your Assets Are Going? by Lesly Longa Vaillancourt

My job as an estate planning attorney is to find the simplest way to transfer a client’s’ assets at death.  Many times, that depends on the nature of the asset and the circumstances of the particular client and beneficiaries.  As part of the estate planning process with Longa Law, I will discuss with you who or Read More

Wealth Transfer Strategies to Consider in an Election Year

With a push by the Democratic party to return federal estate taxes to their historic norms, taxpayers need to act now before Congress passes legislation that could adversely impact their estates. Currently, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is set at $11.58 million per taxpayer. Assets included in a decedent’s estate that exceed the Read More

Your kids are precious

Have you thought about who will take care of them if you cannot?  Have you set up guardianship documents for your kids in case of incapacity? Call us for help, and if you want to read up on this, here is a guide to help get you started.  https://www.nytimes.com/article/legal-guardian.html

LGBTQ ESTATE PLANNING IN FLORIDA

PRIDE month is coming to a close, but here at Longa Law we are committed to providing LGBTQ estate planning every day.  Unfortunately, while recent advancements in equality have expanded protections in some areas, complete legal equality is not guaranteed for all in our society. We help LGBTQ community members ensure that their wishes are Read More

Protecting Children with an Estate Plan

According to a 2019 survey, 57% of adults in the United States have not prepared any estate planning documents, such as a will or trust, despite the fact that 76% viewed them as important. Many believed mistakenly that it was not necessary because they did not have many assets.  Estate Planning is not just for Read More

TRUST BASICS: HOW MANY WITNESSES ARE NEEDED FOR A TRUST?

A Trust is essentially an agreement between the Grantor (sometimes called the Trustor) and the Trustees, who maintain the Trust in accordance with its terms.  I tell clients to think of a Trust as a private treasure chest or safe deposit box for assets.  Trust law is state specific, so in Florida, the Florida Trust Read More

The SECURE Act – What You Need to Know

Last week I gave a presentation to a room of thirty folks at the Hale Senior Activity Center in Dunedin, Florida, and not a single person in the room knew what the SECURE Act is. Here is a brief look at the SECURE Act and who it effects. The SECURE Act took effect on January Read More

Avoiding Probate Through Joint Ownership and the Exemption on Deeds Between Spouses

One way to avoid probate is through certain types of joint ownership or joint tenancy.  When a married couple buys a property, they own it as a tenancy by the entirety, and the property will automatically pass to the surviving spouse without probate.  Florida law was updated last year to allow for the exemption of Read More

FACE YOUR FEARS: Check Create Estate Plan Off of Your Year-End To-Do List

Last Friday, I helped one of my good friends complete her and her husband’s estate plan, and they finally signed the finished documents on a beautiful afternoon at her condo on the ocean.  The process was difficult for her.  Not because she had much to do; I did the hard work for her. But she Read More

Top 6 Reasons to Make a Trust

A Trust is an arrangement or agreement that allows a third party to hold and manage assets for a beneficiary or beneficiaries.  A Trust allows you to bring all of your assets under one document and avoid interference by the courts. In Florida, the revocable, or “living,” trust is governed by Chapter 736, Florida Statutes. The revocable trust has Read More