The Ultimate Guide to Comprehensive Estate Planning in Florida

This book provides a comprehensive overview of what Florida residents should consider when thinking about "estate planning." The concept, "estate planning," is typically thought as death planning or tax planning. This approach may have been useful many years ago when life expectancy was short or the estate tax exemption was low. Today we live longer and estate taxes rarely affect 99% of the population. Therefore, when we talk about estate planning today the focus is more on control of our assets, incapacity planning, accessing to government benefits that may help with long term care planning, ensuring that our money will help us have a decent lifestyle, and eventually plan to leave a legacy to our children. This book covers the basic concepts such as wills, trusts, power of attorney, etc., how to prepare for an estate planning consultation, what you need to know about costs, and then explains concepts such as probate, guardianships, special needs trusts, Medicaid and Veterans Administration benefits that may help pay for long term care costs. The book is an essential reading to prepare to effectively discuss your plan of action with your trusted advisors. We hope you enjoy reading as we did preparing it.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of what Florida residents should consider when thinking about "estate planning." The concept, "estate planning," is typically thought as death planning or tax planning. This approach may have been useful many years ago when life expectancy was short or the estate tax exemption was low. Today we live longer and estate taxes rarely affect 99% of the population. Therefore, when we talk about estate planning today the focus is more on control of our assets, incapacity planning, accessing to government benefits that may help with long term care planning, ensuring that our money will help us have a decent lifestyle, and eventually plan to leave a legacy to our children. This book covers the basic concepts such as wills, trusts, power of attorney, etc., how to prepare for an estate planning consultation, what you need to know about costs, and then explains concepts such as probate, guardianships, special needs trusts, Medicaid and Veterans Administration benefits that may help pay for long term care costs. The book is an essential reading to prepare to effectively discuss your plan of action with your trusted advisors. We hope you enjoy reading as we did preparing it.

As a practicing attorney with more than 15 years of experience, you can trust Attorney Horacio Sosa to take care of you and your family when you have an estate planning or elder law concern. Horacio's background is very unique. Graduating cum laude from Universidad Católica de Asunción Law School in Asuncion, Paraguay, in 1992, he immediately began his legal career at the Paraguayan law firm of Peroni, Sosa, Tellechea, Burt & Narvaja. He also worked as an in-house counsel for a wireless telecommunication carrier. In 1996, Horacio was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and obtained an LLM degree for foreign lawyers from the University of Minnesota Law School. In 2001, he obtained the Juris Doctor degree from William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was an editor of the school's law review and a member of the international moot court team. Upon graduation, he was admitted to the Minnesota Bar (now inactive) and later, in 2002, to the Florida Bar. In both Minnesota and Florida, Horacio has worked in the areas of elder law, estate planning, special needs planning, guardianship, and estate administration. Effective June 1, 2019, Horacio has become a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Elder Law. Horacio's bilingual capacity (Spanish and English), international educational background, and professional experience allow him to effectively counsel the diverse population in South Florida. He is admitted to the Florida Bar and also before the Veterans Administration to submit and prosecute Veterans Administration benefits on behalf of his clients. Horacio is a member of the following organizations: Florida Bar (Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and Elder Law Section) Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Elder Law Co-chair of the Estate Planning, Advance Directive Probate Committee of the Elder Law Section of the Florida Bar National Academy of the Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) Academy of the Florida Elder Law Attorneys (AFELA) Academy of Special Needs Planners A Little More About Attorney Sosa Horacio chose to become a lawyer to make a meaningful impact on people's lives and he feels that his practice areas of estate planning and elder law allow him to help people when they need it most. After the years he spent in Minnesota, he chose to establish his practice in South Florida for the weather, the Latin flavor, and its proximity to South America. In his spare time, Horacio plays guitar and spends time with his family. He loves traveling to his home country of Paraguay to visit family and friends. Horacio is married to Keather Wheelock and is the proud father of a son, Matias (†). His dog Linus (Iggy) often visits the office.