Boca Raton Estate Planning Attorney

Estate planning attorneys at The Berman Law Group in Boca Raton are ready to help you protect your estate, and plan and transfer your property and money to individuals and charities as you choose.

Your "Estate" covers everything that belongs to you. Assigning your belongings to others, in the event of your death, is a weighty decision and an important one. The Berman Law Group's Boca Raton estate planning lawyers can advise you on the best strategies to transfer these belongings. Planning your estate will ensure that your wishes are carried out with the utmost detail, and can help minimize taxes, delays, and eliminate court costs.

Wills by Estate Planning Attorneys in Boca Raton

In 2015 Boca Raton's median age of all people was 46.4. Surprisingly, many Boca Raton residents do not have a will and they are not alone. Just 4 in 10 U.S. adults have a will. If you don't have a will in place, and you die while married with children, your surviving spouse and children will generally inherit your assets. If you are single with no children and die without a will, then the state of Florida will determine which of your relatives will inherit your estate. Without a will, your estate will go into probate, a slow process that generates court costs while the courts decide what to do with your assets. Having a will can protect your loved ones and avoid conflict between relatives over your property and money.

There are two types of wills:

1. A Living Will is a type of Advance Care Directive states your wishes regarding life support in the event you fall into an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative state.

2. A Will or Last Will and Testament is a legal document that dictates how you would like your assets distributed after your death. In your will, you must also name an executor. The executor is responsible for managing the estate until all the terms of the will have been carried out. The writer of the will is referred to as the testator and those who inherit from the will are called the beneficiaries. In your will, you can also assign guardianship of your children and the ownership of your pets.

Florida Last Will and Testament Requirements

It is important to note that The State of Florida does not recognize verbal wills. So, your will must be typed or legibly written in order to be valid. There are certain criteria that must be met to create a will. If the will does not meet all the conditions, it is not considered legally valid. Here at The Berman Law Group we follow these requirements for the State of Florida when creating your will:

• You must be 18 years old or a emancipated minor for your will to be valid in Florida

• The will must be in writing, verbal wills are not acceptable in Florida

• The testator (the person who has made a will or given a legacy) must have signed the will, or a signature must be placed at the testator's direction

• The will must have been signed by at least two witnesses and must be signed in the presence of the writer of the will and each other.

People are legally allowed to contest a will. Therefore, it is important that your will is written in a legal manner and that it ensures clarity as to how you wish to distribute your property and money and how and when you wish to distribute it. If you want to disinherit your spouse or a child from your will, it must also be written in a specific wording.

There are two types of wills:

The most common reason for contesting a will is undue influence. This is when there is suspicion that someone close to the writer has abused their relationship to manipulate the real wishes of the writer. Only the court can decide the exact definition of undue influence as there is a substantial amount of case law expressing the line between offering an opinion and exerting unfair influence over the writer of the will. This is another reason why you might want to join the hundreds of residents in the Boca Raton area that trust the estate planning attorneys at The Berman Law Group. It is imperative to have a last will that is legally and properly drafted. Additionally, an attorney can also ask the writer questions to ensure that the writer is expressing their own wishes in the will.