Julie Landry Laviolette in the Miami Herald tackles the age old question: “Do I need a trust? ”It’s not only heiresses and socialites who can benefit from a trust. Used in the right circumstances, a trust can be a helpful estate planning tool to pass assets to your children, take care of your affairs if ...Read More

The following is an excerpt from a recent article in The Mercury by Kathy Martin regarding elder abuse. Our aging population is increasingly vulnerable to abuse, with financial exploitation having risen to the third most common form of elder abuse (following self-neglect and caregiver neglect). The message is that we need to step up and ...Read More

Steve Shaw an estate planning attorney practicing in South Carolina and Florida offers this Six-step checklist of your estate plan. 1. Define your goals 2. Gather and organize your data 3. Analyze your situation 4. Develop your strategies 5. Implement your plan Read the full article for details on each step. Shaw on the Law: ...Read More

When you're a parent, you can't imagine a time when you won't be around for your children. The reality is, however, that there is a possibility that during your lifetime, there might be a time when you are incapacitated or otherwise unable to make decisions about your care or your assets. With that in mind, ...Read More