Scam Alert: How We Nearly Got Caught in a Bank Impersonation Scheme
I have spent my career advising clients how to identify risk and protect themselves from financial harm – yet recently, I experienced firsthand how convincing modern financial fraud schemes have become. I was targeted by an individual impersonating a bank officer from the institution where my family and my law practice maintain our accounts. What […]
An Expensive Lesson: Why Moving Property to an LLC Could Triple Your Florida Property Taxes
How many times have you scrolled past an Instagram Reel, YouTube Short, or TikTok confidently telling you to transfer your investment property into an LLC for “asset protection?” These content creators love to sell the dream: move the property into an LLC and—poof!—it is magically shielded from tenant lawsuits, credit card debt, divorce, or whatever […]
Top 4 Worst Assets to Inherit
The holidays have blessed us once again with the promise of good food, forced cheer, and lovingly awkward moments. Older siblings can ask each other meaningful questions like “Who do you think mom will leave the beach house to?” Or…”What are we going to do with dad’s Patek Philippe?” If these questions sound familiar, count […]
6 Reasons Immigrants in Florida Need Estate Planning
If you are a recent immigrant to South Florida, you have likely walked a long and difficult road to get here. Yet Miami-Dade and Broward Counties are made up of immigrants – Russians, Ukrainians, Central and South Americans…the list is extensive. After all, Miami is a global crossroads where Bogotá, Kyiv, and Havana meet on […]
When a Loved One Dies: A Guide to Finding Lost Assets
Do you want to know what the most common conundrum we see in our office? When a loved one passes away and the family has no idea what assets that person owned – or even where to begin looking. No one knows what bank they used, whether they had life insurance, a 401(k), a brokerage […]
How One Tragedy Highlights the Need for Health Care Proxies
If you have a child over 18, have they appointed YOU as their health care proxy? After reading Baylie’s story, all parents should speak to their adult children about obtaining a health care surrogate document. Such a document can grant parents access to their adult children’s medical records and allow them to make medical decisions […]
Dads – Do Not Leave the Country (or the Couch) Without These Two Documents
Dads – you have earned it! That long-awaited summer vacation you daydreamed about. We know how many deals you closed, how many times you fixed the Wi-Fi like a Starlink engineer, used your calloused fingertips to unjam the printer that has the temperament of a wild raccoon, risked second-degree burns hovering over the ribeye – […]
From Playground Fights to Estate Fights: Lessons in Family Conflict
In Greek mythology, Cronus swallowed his children to prevent a prophecy that one of them would overthrow him. However, it was his wife, Rhea, who saved her son, Zeus, by tricking Cronus into swallowing a stone instead. Kudos to Mom for that one! While acts of parricide (killing one’s parents) and fratricide (killing one’s siblings) […]
Gene Hackman’s Last Role: Who Inherits When the Whole Family Dies?
Could this story be any more horrifying? The partially mummified remains of legendary actor, Gene Hackman, age 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, age 65, were found in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Feb. 26, when neighborhood security workers showed up at the home and alerted police. Authorities say Arakawa passed away on […]
What Surprises Do the New Laws Hold for Floridians in 2025?
As we slither into the Year of the Wood Snake (which began on January 29th 2025, according to the Chinese calendar) we see how the Wood Snake’s strategy and intuition can play a role in navigating the new laws taking effect this year. Keeping up with new laws each year can feel a bit like […]
