WILLS AND ESTATE PLANS
Your estate plan serves two very important functions:
1 - In the event you are incapacitated, your plan manages your legal, financial and medical affairs.
2 - In the event of your death, your plan directs the distribution of your property to loved ones.
In short, your plan protects you and provides for the people you love. Your estate plan can be accomplished through a variety of vehicles or documents including: a Will, a Trust, a life insurance policy, and others. When creating your estate plan, we will discuss the advantages of appointing a Power of Attorney, designating a Health Care Surrogate, and creating a Living Will.
Call attorney O. Kim Byrd today at (813) 876-4019 to make an appointment. We'll send you our FREE Estate Planning Fact Sheet to help you get started organizing the information we'll need to develop your estate plan.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why do I need an estate plan?
Some people find it necessary to create an estate plan to avoid estate taxes. However, 98% of Americans do not have enough property to worry about estate taxes. For these people the most important reason to create an Estate Plan is this:
If you do not create an estate plan, the state of Florida will do it for you.
The Florida Statutes provide for the distribution of a person’s property if the person dies without a Will (intestate). If you die without a Will, your property will first go to your legally recognized spouse. If you do not have a spouse, your property will go to your biological or legally adopted children. If you do not have children, your property will go to your parents.
Without an estate plan, the state of Florida will take your assets before distributing them to non-legally-recognized family members, including domestic partners and step children.
How much does an Estate Plan cost?
The cost of an Estate Plan can vary depending on the size of your estate. Our Estate Planning Packages start at $450 and include all of the following: Simple Will, Power of Attorney, Living Will, Designation of Health Care Surrogate and Declaration of Pre-Need Guardian.
Our firm offers discounted rates for couples who do their estate plans together.
How do I get started?
Call us today at (813) 876-4019 to make an appointment and you'll receive our FREE Estate Planning Fact Sheet to help you organize the information we'll need to develop your Estate Plan. Before our meeting, you should collect the financial information you have available, including: your bank statements, IRA’s, retirement plans, pension plans, profit sharing plans, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, titles to cars, boats or recreational vehicles and deeds.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is a document in which you give someone else the authority to conduct financial transactions on your behalf. When you grant someone a Power of Attorney they are called your Attorney in Fact, not to be confused with an Attorney at Law. Your Attorney in Fact can sell your car or withdraw money from your bank account.
Why should I give someone else your Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney is used in Estate Planning to designate someone to make financial decisions for you if you are not able to make them for yourself. If you do not grant someone a Power of Attorney and become incapicitated, your loved ones will have to petition the court to appoint a Guardian to manage your affairs for you.
What is a Living Will?
Sometimes called an Advance Medical Directive, a Living Will expresses your wishes about the administration of life prolonging medical procedures.
Why do you need a Living Will?
Hospitals are required to give you life support as long as you are alive. If you do not want life support under certain circumstances then you must sign a Living Will.
What is a Health Care Surrogate?
A Health Care Surrogate, which is also called a Medical Power of Attorney or Health Care Proxy, gives someone else the authority to make medical decisions for you if you are not able to make them for yourself.
Why do you need to designate a Health Care Surrogate?
Once again, if you do not designate a Health Care Surrogate, the hospitals will consult your closest relative. Your significant other or close friend will not have any say in your medical decisions. They may not even be able to visit you while you are in the hospital.
