Santa Rosa Beach Law Blog

Estate planning feels like something you should do in the future, but you just are not sure when that means you really need to get down to it. You want that plan in place before you pass away, but how do you predict that? Is this something you should do after you get married? After you have kids? After you retire?

A lot of people struggle with these questions and they put it off. However, experts agree that the reality is simple: It's never too soon. No matter how old you are or where you are in life, you can start your estate planning.

Floridians who get a divorce might be of moderate means or be in the middle of a high asset divorce. Regardless of their financial circumstances, there will be one property that has significant value and from which both sides will want a share: the marital home. Often, as part of the divorce, it is decided that the property will be sold. When this happens, it is imperative to understand what the law says about the entitlement to credits or setoffs (recovering of money due) when the property is sold. Having legal advice from a qualified litigator in family law is integral to dealing with this issue.

When the marital property is sold, there must be a settlement agreement, a final divorce judgment, or a final judgment to divide the assets or debts equitably or a party will not be entitled to setoffs or credits and it is specified that these will be provided when the property is sold. If there is no such settlement agreement, the court will assess various factors when it decides if there should be setoffs or credits as part of the divorce.

In a Florida divorce, whether it is a high conflict divorce, a high asset divorce or has other circumstances surrounding it, the topic of alimony - also referred to as spousal support - will come to the forefront. Both parties will have reasonable positions on how much should be paid, how long payments should last, and if there should be conditions linked to the payments. While there are many factors in the discussion, two subsets of alimony are bridge-the-gap and rehabilitative. Understanding how these are determined is key to a case for the prospective paying party and the receiving party.

With bridge-the-gap alimony, the description is apt. It is meant to help the person who is receiving alimony to transition to their new life as a single person and meet their financial needs. It is for assistance with the short-term issues associated with no longer living with a breadwinner. With bridge-the-gap, there is a time limit of two years. When bridge-the-gap is awarded, it will end if the paying party dies or if the person who is receiving support remarries. This award cannot be modified in any way by the amount of time for which it is paid for its amount.

When Floridians are crafting an estate plan, they will frequently consider the basic and obvious devices like wills and trusts. For many, however, there are other concerns that they want to address. That includes what will happen if they have medical issues, become incapacitated or are on life support as the only means to keep them alive and they cannot make decisions on their own. It is in these cases that durable powers of attorney can be useful.

Understanding state law in relation to these arrangements is a foundational part of the decision-making process as to whether it is necessary and desirable or not. With the durable power of attorney, a surrogate will be named to determine if the person - the principal - should stay on life support. This is often used as part of a person's living will. When the durable power of attorney is created, to be valid it must be signed with two adult witnesses.