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Powers of Attorney: Some Basic Principles for Principals
April 9th, 2017
Powers of attorney do not refer to how much your attorney can bench press or lift. Instead, a power of attorney is a document that identifies and gives power to a person to make decisions for you in the case of incapacity. The benefits of a highly de…
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Categories: Powers of Attorney
Tags: Florida
The Blended Family: Providing for Spouses, Children and Stepchildren
March 28th, 2017
When dividing property, fairness is essential, but it’s also subjective. Thinking about wills and who you want to inherit your assets is difficult for anyone, but the process is more complex for blended families. Some of the same rules apply. M…
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Tags: Florida
Can We Talk? Having the Needed Conversations with Potential Guardians
February 8th, 2017
Estate planning is more than making choices. It is also about having conversations with those people you select to act for you in case of your death or disability—personal representatives, powers of attorney, and guardians, to name a few. A lot of…
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Tags: Florida
Don’t Let These Four Key Account Types Fall Through the Cracks: Name Your Beneficiaries
January 25th, 2017
Your estate planning—that part naming whom you want to have things after you die—involves more than your will. You should also select whom you want to receive various accounts you have. These accounts can be given directly to those persons you na…
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Are You Planning a Legacy or a Mess?
January 17th, 2017
We probably don’t actually plan a mess. But without planning, often that is what we leave. A recent book by a Jacksonville author highlights this potential pitfall. The Florida Times Union this week featured an article about a new book by Jacks…
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Tags: Florida
The Blended Family: Who is your Health Care Surrogate?
October 19th, 2016
Ultimately, you have the right to decide what type of health care you would like to receive. You also have the right to decide whom you want to make these decisions. Blended families present some unique challenges in these situations. To help that, c…
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Categories: Health Care Surrogates
Tags: Florida
Using a Trust to Provide Care for Your Elderly Parents
September 30th, 2016
Using a Trust to Supplement Care for Your Elderly Parents Estate planning is for everyone. Sometimes, young adults without children assume they don’t need to plan; everything will go to their parents anyway. But as your parents age, and as you…
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Using a Trust to Keep Money Safe from Young Adults' Bad Decisions
September 23rd, 2016
A well-designed trust should protect your hard-earned assets and ensure the best outcome for each beneficiary. Young adults can be vulnerable to their own bad decisions in money, relationships, and spending; a trust can help protect their financial f…
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The Blended Family: Considerations for Dividing Property
August 31st, 2016
Estate planning for blended families is a complex subject. The process may involve unique challenges because an absolute answer for determining how property should be handled does not exist. This post will give you an overview of some property distri…
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Why Single People Need a Health Care Surrogate
August 10th, 2016
It is of great importance for everyone to appoint a health care surrogate. If you are unable to make your own decisions, a health care surrogate is the person who steps in to make decisions for you. Discussing things in advance with your surrogate ca…
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Categories: Health Care Surrogates
Tags: Florida
Attorney Jana McCreary
Houston Estate Planning Attorney Jana R. McCreary has been an attorney for over twenty years, a career move she made after working for over a decade with adults and children with intellectual disabilities and mental illness. Graduating summa cum laud… Read More