1. Find out if your loved one preplanned their final arrangements.  You may need to search through important papers for this information.  Preplanned final arrangements can be helpful as you and other familiy members will know your loved one’s final wishes.
2. Work with the funeral home to carry out the final arrangements.
3. Look for the decedent’s Last Will.  It should tell you how the decedent wanted his or her property distributed and who the decedent nomintated as personal representative (or executor).
4. Order death certificates.  The funeral home will help you with this.  In Florida we have 2 kinds of death certificates, long (with cause of death) and short (without cause of death).  Most financial institutions and the courts use only the short form.  Long forms are typically needed for life insurance claims.
5. Get Organized!  As you sort through the decedent’s papers you may become overwhelmed.  A portable file box can save you time and frustration.  If you sort and file early on you might save yourself hours of work.
6. Determine if there is the need for a probate or trust administration.  If you do not know, you should be able to determine this in a consultation with an attorney.  Our office handles probates and usually begin with an initial consultation to see if legal help is needed.  At that initial meeting we review the decedent’s assets with the named personal representative to determine how the assets should pass to the beneficiaries.  To schedule a consultation please call our office at 866-265-6100.

 A personal care contract is a contract between the person needing the care and a provider, often a family member.  Some personal care contracts are for direct care while others are for oversight.  Here is an example:

 Dorothy is no longer able to care for herself at home.  She has dementia and has been falling.  Her daughter, Beth, lives in another state and is only able to visit twice a year.  Beth is concerned that no one will visit and assure Dorothy is properly cared for at the assisted living home.  Beth’s cousin, Angie, lives close by and could visit regularly.  Angie enters into a personal care contract with Dorothy (Beth signs as agent under the POA).  According to the agreement Angie spends about 6 hours a week visiting Dorothy, taking her to doctors, making sure Dorothy’s care is sufficient, seeing that her preferences are honored, and communicating back to Beth.  Because this is a compensated transfer of assets, public benefits are not affected.

 While these contracts can be helpful they can also be tricky.  If an arrangement like the above would be helpful to your loved one, we strongly recommend you consult with a qualified elder law attorney.

Congratulations on being a snowbird!!  What a great way to live.  While you have homes in two states, you can only claim one state as your homestead or state of residency.  In most cases, that state is where you would want to originate your documents. 

Now, choosing which state you want to have for residency is another matter.  While Florida has many benefits available to residents, the benefits of the other state may outweigh those.  You should carefully review the pros and cons of each state’s residency benefits before choosing. 

If you are a resident of another state and have valid documents from that state, Florida will honor them.  But, as soon as you become a resident of Florida your documents must comply with Florida law.  While wills often do, other documents such as powers of attorney can fall short. 

The bottom line:  The purchase of a property in another state should signal the need to review your estate plan with your attorney.