Mina's blog

For most people facing bankruptcy, taking on the additional expense of a bankruptcy lawyer may seem unnecessary and impossible. After all, how hard can the bankruptcy process be? Why spend the money on a lawyer? But the truth is, not hiring a lawyer now may cost you a lot more in the end. Mistakes in bankruptcy filings cost people their homes, their cars, and more money.

When it comes to bankruptcy, timing is everything. If you file for bankruptcy too late, your home can be foreclosed or your wages garnished. If you file too soon, you may lose a much needed tax refund or the the chance to take advantage of better bankruptcy terms. Knowing what to do, and when to do it, are crucial parts of successfully filing for bankruptcy. Let us, the experienced Jacksonville bankruptcy attorneys of Beller and Bustamante, help you file for bankruptcy the right way at the right time.

Most client wait to file bankruptcy until they are absolutely stressed, can no longer take the calls from the creditors, and are at wit’s end. This is not the way anyone should live their life especially in the current state of economic stress.

In a recent article by Suze Orman, she wrote that almost everyone needs a trust and revocable trusts are the way to go. The reality is that how you title your property and finances determine whether a trust is appropriate for you. What I do as an attorney is review with my clients their assets and what they want to happen to those assets after they pass. That is an estate plan.

Your beneficiary is a person or entity (like a charity) who will get assets from you or your estate. They could be a beneficiary of an insurance policy, a trust you have established, or the property or money you leave behind (your estate) when you die. It is important to designate the people or entities you want to receive your assets. It’s also important to think about who would get those same assets if your beneficiaries die before you, or the charity has closed, and you haven’t changed the beneficiary designation.

The general definition of a trustee is a person, or entity (like a bank), who holds and manages assets for the benefit of others. When Beller & Bustamante attorneys draft a will, we want our clients to nominate someone to take care of any property or money that shouldn’t or can’t be given directly to the beneficiary. For instance, your children may be over 18, but if you die many years in the future and some of your assets go to grandchildren who are under 18, they can’t legally manage the assets. A judge will have to appoint a trustee.

Wills are drafted to last as long as you have no significant changes in your life or in your wishes.

You should review your will annually to ensure that you still want the people you have appointed as personal representatives, trustees and/or guardians, and that your existing property will still go to the people you had intended and in the manner you had intended.