Page 10 - Stuart Exposure - December '19

Page 10, Stuart Exposure

esTaTe pLanninG

Plan Your Estate To Help child make poor money decisions or have a hard time keeping Disbursements may also be distributed in installments so that
a job? Was there a failed marriage or is this child subject
the financially challenged child can learn to manage money
Financially Strapped Child to strong influence of a spouse? Are there substance abuse before receiving the next check.
problems? Or did this child simply never save a dime and is If the child has a drug or alcohol problem, you may
By Carrie Lavargna now middle-aged with no retirement plan. choose against interval payments and withhold assets until
Parents worry about their You have a right to be worried about the situation. Asking the problem is corrected. In the trust document you can create
children and it doesn’t stop these questions is not judging but trying to get to the root a wait-and-see provision by giving the trustee flexibility to
when they grow up. My dad of the problem to plan a solution. This family member may distribute the assets to the beneficiary when behavior changes.
used to say that as I got older have wonderful personal attributes and be a loving, caring You can instruct the trustee to cover the cost of housing,
he still worried about me, it person. health insurance and food directly. The trust document
only cost him more. Probably However, the child’s lack of money or lack of money can specify standards to be met before the trust funds are
some truth in that. sense should be considered when planning your estate. You distributed, such as requiring the beneficiary to pass drug or
Many parents have seen may want to provide assistance for your child’s retirement alcohol testing or participate in rehabilitation programs.
their adult children work and fear that a lump sum inheritance would be blown in no Who should be the trustee? You can choose a family
hard and not find the financial time at all. member, possibly another child, but consider that when one
success that they themselves Instead of leaving money outright to the financially child holds the purse strings for another, stress and conflict
had. There are fewer jobs with pensions, and many young challenged child, consider a trust. arise.
families barely make ends meet, are challenged by the cost Trusts are not just for the super-rich. There are expenses to These are hard issues to discuss, but you should feel free to
of college education for their children and frankly, don’t have set up and manage the trust, but such costs pale in comparison talk openly with your estate planning attorney. Work through
the discipline to save for retirement. to the money wasted by a free-spending child. these issues and plan appropriately. Making no decision may
Seniors are often financially helping out their adult There are three parties to a trust. First, the grantor creates be the worst one.
children. the trust and decides when, how and to whom funds are to be This is an overview of the subject matter and not intended
So, how should parents prepare their estate plan to help disbursed. Second, the trustee manages the assets and makes as legal advice. Carrie Lavargna is an attorney practicing
the cash strapped adult child? payments to the beneficiaries, who are the third party. law in Stuart, Florida. She is board certified in real estate
Consider how this financial mess happened. Were the Trust assets may be disbursed every month or year. They law by the Florida Supreme Court and focuses her practice
circumstances out of the child’s control? Does your adult may be focused on providing health care and living expenses. primarily in estate planning and real estate matters.
reaL esTaTe

Treasure Coast Real Estate This new double-track vertical lift bridge, when in the Let’s hope that Martin County, along with groups like
Report raised position, would be 65 feet or as high as the Roosevelt the Martin County Artificial Reef Fund, get involved.
Bridge nearby. The width of the channel would also increase
Construction of the new bridge is expected to start in 2025,
from 50 feet to 180 feet, making it much easier to navigate. so now might be a good time to start figuring out where to get
The Old Florida East Coast Railway Train Presently it looks like the local county governments and the funds to finally put this old bridge to use for something
Bridge Over The St. Lucie River Could Be marine industry are in support of the new bridge. Everyone seems beneficial.
Replaced to be in agreement that it should have been replaced years ago. Jim Weix is a Broker Associate with The Keyes Company.
By Jim Weix Along with making navigation easier, and preventing a Jim has 24 years of experience selling real estate full time.
Imagine leaving your potential collapse of waterfront property values, I envision If you have questions or want the services of an experienced
dock at 6:30 a.m. to go another positive. Wouldn’t that old trestle make a great expert, you can reach Jim at (772) 341-2941 or jimweix@
fishing. Then imagine sitting artificial reef! jimweix.com.
for an hour waiting for one
of 32 passenger trains, plus
additional freight trains, to
pass so that the 94-year-old
railroad trestle would rise up
to let you through. That is if
it is not malfunctioning as it
is known to do frequently.
That is the prospect that boaters and waterfront property
owners, located west of the trestle, are facing when the
planned passenger train service from Miami to Orlando by
Virgin Trains – formerly Brightline, formerly All Aboard
Florida gets going. Along with the inconvenience, waterfront
property values were likely to take a major hit.
In reality, that may have happened already. Waterfront
home sales have been slower than normal in some Palm
City waterfront communities. Along with the news coverage,
many real estate firms will disclose the potential issue to
prospective buyers.
However, Virgin Trains has announced plans to replace the
old bridge with a new one. The proposed new bridge would
increase the present vertical clearance under the closed bridge
of 6.6 feet at mean high tide to 18 feet. This means that most
boats would be able to get under it even when it is down.

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