They can be great protectors, and if you have a dog it will need exercise and you can find yourself getting out and about more often yourself as a result. This can have positive health implications both physically and mentally.

There are some expenses that go along with raising a pet, so when you are planning your estate you must consider choosing a caretaker and providing this individual with the financial resources that he or she will need to pay for your pet’s needs.

How much do you think this figure would be? The answer is that it probably varies depending on the specific needs of your pet or pets and what your financial capabilities may be.

Betty White and Oprah Winfrey certainly have rather large figures in mind. Ms. White has a golden retriever named Pontiac, and reports tell us that the trust fund that has been established for his care is funded with $5 million. Winfrey has multiple dogs and her pet trust is valued at some $30 million.

Most individuals would say that the typical canine should be able to get by on less than seven figures. However, you do have to take steps to provide for your animal appropriately when you are planning your estate. If you would like to discuss the matter with an expert, simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a licensed Sarasota estate planning lawyer.

The exact nature of your assets is going to dictate the appropriate course of action, and with this in mind a recent article in Forbes highlighted a strategy that was used by the Facebook founders to preserve wealth that exists in the form of appreciable securities.

Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz reportedly placed significant Facebook shares into grantor retained annuity trusts back in 2008. Financial planning attorneys will often advise their clients to consider the utilization of the zeroed out GRAT strategy when clients are in possession of company shares that can logically be expected to significantly increase in value.

The grantor receives annuity payments out of the trust annually, and you name a beneficiary who would assume ownership of any remainder that may exist after the expiration of the trust.

Though the act of funding the trust removes these assets from your estate for estate tax purposes the IRS considers it to be an instance of taxable gift giving. They add anticipated interest by using the Section 7520 rate that was in place when the trust was created.

“Zeroing out” the trust entails arranging for these annuity payments to equal the entire taxable value of the GRAT. In cases when the assets appreciate beyond the rate that was applied by the IRS initially there will be something left in the trust after the term concludes. These assets will be transferred to the beneficiary free of the gift tax.

If you would like to learn more about GRATs and other estate planning instruments that provide estate tax efficiency, simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a good Sarasota estate planning lawyer.

Given the above figures it is clear that wealth in excess of $1 million is not something that is exclusively possible for the very few. When you consider the fact that your real property is going to count as part of your estate for tax purposes you could well find yourself in possession of assets that exceed $1 million in value without considering yourself to be a wealthy individual.

The reason why we are highlighting this figure is because of the fact that the estate tax exclusion is scheduled to be reduced to $1 million in 2013. In addition to this, the maximum rate of the tax is set to rise from the 35% that is in place right now all the way up to 55%.

It should be noted that it is possible that changes to existing laws could take place before the end of the year that could alter these figures. But of course there are no guarantees so you have to go forward with the expectation that things will go ahead as scheduled.

The take away here is that you should never assume that the estate tax is not relevant to you unless you have all the facts. Laws are always changing, and you can be exempt one year and exposed the next. Engaging the services of a good Sarasota estate planning lawyer is the best way to be certain that your estate plan will always reflect your wishes and protect your interests as time passes and things change.

If you want to be able to retire and do so in relative comfort you have to make plans in advance. A comfortable retirement is not just going to drop into your lap. Social Security is a basic safety net but it is not going to be enough to finance the type of retirement that you have probably always dreamed about.

With the above in mind, spending at least 20 years in the military can set you up for a very comfortable retirement because you get a pension after 20 years. You could choose to embark on a career in the public sector after these 20 years or spend your entire career in the military. If you stay in the military beyond 20 years your pension will be greater when you do in fact retire.

There is also a military benefit called the Veterans Aid & Attendance special pension that provides qualified veterans with a monthly payment that can be utilized to defray living assistance costs and this benefit is available to veterans who have served for as few as 90 days as long as one of those days was during a time of war.

If you are interested in devising a plan for the future as a veteran or someone who is currently serving, the intelligent first step is to sit down and discuss your situation with a licensed, experienced Sarasota retirement planning lawyer.

Most people never explore the subject of estate planning in any detail, but the fact is that everyone passes away. Nobody will tell you that they are not concerned about the future of their loved ones, but a lot of these individuals are going through life without any type of estate plan in place. One of the reasons is because they have no idea where to begin, and this is where the assistance of an experienced Sarasota probate lawyer is so valuable.

If you utilize a last will to express your final wishes your estate is going to pass through probate. During this interim the personal representative will go about the tasks involved in administering the estate. However, this estate administration will be supervised by the probate court.

Therefore, when you are constructing a last will it should be done with the nuances of the Sarasota area probate courts in mind because everything will be done under the auspices of the court.

A good probate lawyer is invaluable to the process. If you are ready to put the procrastination behind you and start making preparations for the future the first step will be to make arrangements to speak with a Sarasota probate attorney who has a thorough understanding of how the local probate courts operate.

The National Council On Aging does a great job of raising awareness about the subject, and they tell us that someone is treated in an emergency room for injuries suffered in a fall every 15 seconds.

You may feel as though that is a rather surprising statistic but shrug it off under the impression that falling down is really not that big of a deal. In fact, when you drill down a bit further into the statistical data you find that someone actually dies due to injuries suffered during a fall every 29 minutes. This means that over 20,000 Americans die after falling down each year.

There are things that you can do to mitigate your risk. One of these is to simply pay close attention to what you are doing and measure your steps mindful of the fact that a single mistake can have devastating consequences. In addition, you can install things like handrails and grab bars into your home to make it easier for you to brace yourself.

Sarasota elder law attorneys can help prepare you for the eventualities of aging from a legal perspective, but it is up to you to remain vigilant on a day-to-day basis to keep yourself healthy. Beware of the possibility of falling down and take the matter seriously to avoid becoming one of the statistics.

The reason why the gift tax is thought of as being a tax that is only imposed on the rich in some quarters is because of the fact that there is an exemption that exists. Right now that exemption is $5.12 million, and it  is unified with the estate tax exclusion. What this unification means is that the value of gifts that you give coupled with the value of your estate is taxable if this combined figure exceeds $5.12 million.

There is certainly a long way between a billionaire who is truly wealthy by any definition and someone who has been able to put together several million dollars through a lifetime of hard work and intelligent investing. But the fact is that even more people will be exposed to the gift tax in 2013.

At that time the exemption amount is scheduled to be reduced to just $1 million. And, the rate of the tax will be raised from the currently existing 35% to a rather eye-popping 55%.

The thing to take away from all of this is that divesting yourself of financial assets can have significant tax consequences. Should you be interested in transferring assets your loved ones the wise course of action is to do so under the guidance of a licensed and experienced Sarasota estate planning lawyer.

This is something to keep in mind when you consider the different stages of life that you will be entering into over the years. It is important to educate yourself to be apprised of all relevant information so that you don’t find yourself in a difficult situation as a senior citizen.

Understanding the limitations of Medicare is key, and too many people go through life under the misconception that Medicare will handle all of their health care needs once they become eligible for the program. In fact there are things that Medicare doesn’t cover, and one of them is long-term care.

Long-term care is extremely expensive and frankly it is something that a lot of people cannot pay for out-of-pocket while still maintaining a suitable legacy to pass along to their loved ones.

Though Medicare does not cover long-term care, Medicaid will pay for a stay in a nursing home or an assisted living community if you can qualify. Though there is an upper resource limit of just $2000, many of your most valuable possessions are not considered to be countable in a Medicaid eligibility context.

So, if you plan ahead intelligently far enough in advance you can position yourself optimally so that you can gain Medicaid eligibility without divesting yourself of everything in the process.

Because of the rather complex rules that are in place professional guidance is recommended if you are interested in obtaining Medicaid eligibility. To discuss the matter with an expert, don’t hesitate to contact a good Sarasota elder law attorney to set up an informative Medicaid planning consultation.

The typical layperson would have no reason to have a comprehensive understanding of all of the eventualities of aging, potential resources to tap into as a response to them, and the various sources of asset erosion that exist.

Entering into different phases of life is analogous to the navigation of uncharted waters, and the best way to negotiate them is with the assistance of someone who has knowledge of these waterways.

There are websites and marketing companies out there that attempt to lure in customers by floating the idea that anyone can plan his or her own estate by filling in the blanks on a generic last will document. You can certainly fill in those blanks if you want to, but whether or not your true wishes will ultimately be carried out optimally is anybody’s guess.

And, though a simple last will can be perfectly suitable under some limited circumstances, there are other ways to transfer assets to your loved ones and there are issues to consider that have nothing to do with financial matters. So if you assume that estate planning involves a generic last will document and nothing else you may be making a mistake.

Each family is unique and the appropriate estate plan is going to vary on a case-by-case basis. The intelligent way to proceed is to work alongside a licensed, experienced and savvy Sarasota estate planning lawyer who will evaluate your situation and assemble a combination of legally binding documents that are perfectly suited to your specific needs.

Depending on the type of business that you have coupled with your family dynamic a number of different approaches can be optimal. And, it is important to come to some conclusions early on because how you proceed in the present can have everything to do with what you intend to do later on.

For an example, let’s say that you have one child, a daughter, and she has made a career out of working in the family business. She would like to continue on after you retire or pass away and eventually give the business to her children.

In a case such as this, you may be quite proactive about reinvesting in the business to solidify its underpinning for future generations. You would also have a pretty simple and direct situation regarding who gets the business.

On the other hand, let’s assume you have more than one child. Perhaps one of the children is involved in the business and the others are not. To provide for everyone equally you will have to do something to balance inheritances when you are planning your estate. This can oftentimes include the purchase of life insurance.

If you did not want to keep your business in the family at all and you intended to sell it to finance your retirement you may manage the business differently. And if the business was entirely dependent on your skills as the owner and of little value once you move on another type of situation would exist.

The wise course of action is to create a succession/exit plan and act with your future intentions in mind. Should you be interested in doing so, the first step is to sit down and discuss your vision with a licensed, experienced Sarasota estate planning lawyer.