If You Think You Can Leave Estate Planning Until Later, Think Again
Estate planning is more important than ever to protect your ability to control how your assets will be used in the event that you suddenly become incapacitated and are unable to manage your financial and business affairs for yourself. Many people understand the concept of having a will or a trust for distributing your assets as you wish after you die; but what happens while you are still alive?
Legal instruments such as a durable financial power of attorney can safeguard your critical affairs from the court’s intervention. There are several types of power of attorney documents, depending on the nature of your circumstances.
Likewise, creating a health care directive will safeguard your ability to appoint someone you trust to ensure that your physician and others follow your wishes for medical treatment if you become incapable of speaking on your own behalf. In Florida, there are three types of advance directives that could serve your best interests:
- A health care surrogate designation
- A living will
- An anatomical donation
Discussions surrounding these types of legal instruments can be difficult, but that does not mean that you should delay creating an estate plan. If you already have an estate plan but have recently been divorced or experienced the death of your spouse, it is time to make an update.
An Experienced Advocate Who Takes Action
Attorney Jennifer A. Kerr understands the intricate challenges of estate planning in Florida. She has in-depth experience handling probate and trust litigation, business succession disputes and company dissolutions in Florida. Ms. Kerr has also negotiated the purchase and sale of prize horses held by a receiver, and she represents clients with other sophisticated legal issues tangential to the lack of estate planning. In addition, she provides detailed preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, guardianship documents and related documents.
Ms. Kerr can be available for counsel regarding the selection and retention of attorneys in out-of-state probate or estate administration disputes as well.
Local Counsel With A Worldly View
Your estate is worth protecting. Speak with an experienced estate planning and probate lawyer soon. If your family has experienced the recent death of a loved one, it can be overwhelming to try to finalize their affairs on your own. This can be especially true when not everyone agrees as to validity of your loved one’s will or trust. Send an email or call the law office of Jennifer A. Kerr, P.A., in Stuart at 772-303-3287 for a consultation about estate planning or probate and estate administration litigation.