When it comes time for your estate planning, should you choose to draft a will or a living trust? Both of these documents may provide solid benefits for your family members and protection against probate disputes. However, each one of these options has separate advantages and drawbacks. At Luis E. Barreto & Associates, P.A., we have helped numerous Miami clients decide the option that is best for their Read More

Many Florida residents might be aware that probate is a court process that identifies and gathers all assets of a deceased person, pays all creditors and distributes the remaining assets to the person's beneficiaries. The entire probate process involves a number of people, such as the circuit court judge, the clerk of the circuit court, the executor of the estate, those parties who have claims on the estate, the Read More

Miami, Florida, residents would agree that when the breadwinner of a family passes away, the survivors or dependents have to face a number of financial challenges. In order to address this concern, English common law had a provision called elective shares. Under this provision, the survivors and dependents of a deceased breadwinner received certain financial protections. Laws have evolved since then and the purpose Read More

Although many Florida residents understand the advantages of estate planning, not many actually spend the necessary amount of time and resources required to create a foolproof estate plan. Marriage often makes couples consider estate planning seriously enough to take some basic steps. Such estate plans can be made with the help of an attorney. Retirement accounts and life insurance are important parts of an estate Read More

Many Floridians have been able to amass considerable assets and properties during their lifetimes. Some of them plan to leave this wealth with their children and want to do so without legal complications that would unnecessarily split the assets, diminish their value or in other ways cost their heirs. To avoid these problems, they must have thorough estate plans in place before they die. Even knowing this basic fact, Read More

Many Florida residents are interested in setting up a viable estate plan. Doing this by taking all the necessary steps may avoid confusion about the decedent's wishes. However, failing to discuss the plan with adult children may lead to family squabbles and disappointment. Adult children, or in some cases grandchildren, may feel that their inheritance was shortsighted. This happens most often when one child inherits Read More

When an individual passes on in Florida, his or her estate may go through the probate process. Probate is essentially a court-supervised discovery process that takes into account the assets and liabilities of an estate. Although there are two forms of probate in Florida, most probate cases are of the formal administration variety. Costs related to probate are paid for using funds from the estate and are given top Read More

What happens to your digital assets after you die? An increasing number of Florida residents are taking the time to address this concern in their estate planning documents, as the national debate rages about whether online accounts should die along with their users. A new movement among attorneys would allow family members to get immediate access to relatives' digital accounts -- unless the information is somehow Read More

How old is your Florida estate plan? Experts say that even the ultra-wealthy – those with more than $500 million in net worth – often have estate plans that are at least five years old. It is important to remember that your estate planning documents do have a shelf life; they need to be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are still relevant and accurate. Financial experts say that estate plans should be Read More

Planning a wedding is fun! You have to think about the cake, the colors of the decorations, the ceremony and even the people you want to have as bridesmaids and groomsmen. Most Florida residents probably avoid thinking about estate planning during this magical time; after all, what could a will have to do with your marital bliss? It turns out that prenuptial agreements, trusts and wills all play a very important role Read More