Power of attorneys, both medical and financial, can benefit any adult should an injury, illness or other event (planned or unplanned) occur. Without documents appointing a person to manage your financial matters (i.e. keep your bills paid), a court will be needed to legally appoint someone to oversee your estate and your health.

Living wills state your intentions regarding the use of life support, which can help ease the mind of your medical power of attorney should the situation arise.

Last will and testaments nominate guardians for dependent children, appoint personal representatives (executors) and list beneficiaries of your estate. If you don't have a will, Florida has a will for you. Testamentary trusts are created by a will after the will's creator passes, typically to hold assets for/from young beneficiaries or doubling estate tax exemptions for married couples.

Living trusts are used in addition to the documents above. They can accomplish the same tasks as a testamentary trust, help assets avoid probate and sometimes be more effective than financial power of attorneys during an incapacitation.

The documents you use will depend on the needs you identify.

Common goals for young Florida families

1. If you have dependents and you are planning should something happen to you, a key consideration is money. Do you have enough money to support your dependents? How long will your dependents need financial support?

   Should your current assets not be enough, there is only one way to inexpensively create money: life insurance.



2. When a court determines who shall become guardians of your dependent children, people nominated in a last will and testament will likely receive the highest consideration. Without a will the court will do its best to appoint a suitable guardian, potentially someone you would not have chosen. Learn more about choosing guardians for children.

3. Unless an inheritance is placed in a trust, a beneficiary gets control of his/her inheritance at age 18. Think back to when you were 18, 21 or even age 25. What would you have done with five or six figures of cash?

   Both testamentary trusts and living trusts can hold money for beneficiaries until a certain age, such as 30. If a beneficiary needs money prior to the listed age for health, education, maintenance or support, the acting trustee of the trust may make early distributions for reasonable requests payable to the beneficiary, guardian or some institution.

4. Should the guardians home not be large enough or the children be entrenched at their school, a trust can maintain the residence and continue paying for mortgage, tax, utility and other related expenses until the children reach a certain age. Afterwards, the trust could instruct the home to be sold and distributed to the beneficiaries.

Living trusts and probate

Probate is not a tax. Probate is a court process to validate a will, ensure its validity and oversee the transition of assets within an estate. Hence, wills do not prevent probate.

Some assets avoid probate - any asset with beneficiaries listed such as life insurance, IRAs, 401k's and annuities. Assets jointly held with rights of survivorship avoid probate. Assets placed in a living trust prior to the trust's creator passing will legally avoid probate.

Formal probate is required for estates with over $75,000 of real property, such as a home. Probate court fees are typically inexpensive but attorneys are required for formal probates, which can add to the cost.

Probate typically takes a minimum of four months and can last up to year. If estate taxes are due, the process can take longer. The estate transition can go quicker without a probate court overseeing every step, but the process still takes time even with a living trust.

For some estates, probate can offer advantages such as settling disputes impartially, ensuring your instructions are carried out correctly, creditors are given a shorter and finite window for making claims and that important steps are not forgotten.