When you think about estate planning, you probably know most of what you want to put in your Will. You might think about your money, home, vehicles, and possessions. You might not even consider your ## digital assets – even though they are increasingly important. Before we continue: what exactly are digital assets?

Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you will ever make. To ensure that you pay fair market value, an appraiser will inspect the property and complete a report that includes the amount they believe the property to be worth. This report is then used to help you decide whether to buy it. Your mortgage lender will also review the appraiser’s feedback to determine whether to issue you a mortgage.

A revocable or irrevocable living trust is one of the most common estate-planning documents in use today, second only, perhaps, to a Last Will and Testament. Like a Will, a trust can distribute certain assets to your heirs upon your passing. There are some situations, though, where it makes more sense to place an asset into a trust instead of designating in it your Will.

With the impressive amount of modern advancements and innovations in medical technology, the need for living Wills and health care surrogacy documents has increased dramatically. This is an especially sensitive and delicate area of estate planning, but it is still vitally important for avoiding long, protracted, and painful fights in court. This blog will provide a general overview of the two documents available to ensure your wishes are followed if you reach incapacity.

COVID-19 has made for an interesting housing market the past few months, and the only thing certain in the near future is that uncertainty will continue to reign. That said, there are many areas in Florida and the rest of the country that can be considered a buyer’s market. In these conditions, you may have to pull out all the stops to snag your dream home. This blog will lay out some tips for making the best offer possible on a house you have your eyes on.

If you are officially on the hunt for your dream home, you will be spending a significant amount of time in the near future on various fact-finding missions. You have an area and house size you are looking for; now, you just have to learn all about each house you visit and determine whether it checks enough of your boxes.

If you are among the majority of American adults who have not done anything to create an estate plan for themselves, don’t feel bad at all! Planning for your eventual demise is an uncomfortable thought for most people, and there is a prevailing attitude that estate planning is only for the wealthy. That is not true for reasons we will cover in this blog, which is intended to act as a soft introduction to estate planning for Floridians who haven’t given much thought to the subject previously.

Properties that are tied up in probate are especially attractive to potential buyers due to their price tag. Beware, though: closing on a probate property will take a while. Six months is a rough estimate of the minimum amount of time it will take for the sale to be completed, but don’t be surprised if the process takes well over a year.

In real estate, buying or selling a home “as-is” means the current occupants or owners do not intend to make any repairs or renovations to the structure before ownership changes hands. Agreeing to this provision as purchasers means the sellers have no obligations to make any improvements. Often, buyers will request an inspection for fact-finding purposes only before agreeing to purchase as-is. Other times, sellers will specify certain parts of the home that will be sold as-is.

Are you buying or selling real estate in Florida? If so, you have probably heard of the Far Bar contract. This form is used throughout the state for real estate transactions. In fact, it is the most commonly used real estate contract in Florida.