Most people considering bankruptcy have long lived financially responsible lives and have unexpected situations that push them to the brink. What are some of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy among adults?
A common reason for people to file personal bankruptcy is actually medical debt, not credit card spending. All it takes is a cancer diagnosis or a car crash caused by someone without insurance for you to have more medical bills than you can possibly repay. People with cancer, in particular, have a significantly elevated risk of filing for bankruptcy after completing their treatments because of the huge costs involved.
Some people find themselves considering bankruptcy after the end of their marriage. The outcome of property division proceedings might leave one person with a significant amount of debt and insufficient personal property to fully repay those debts.
Other times, it will be support obligations and the pressure it puts on someone's budget that of course them to consider bankruptcy. A divorced adult may have a hard time paying rent and meeting their other cost of living expenses while subject to support obligations and paying off their court costs.
Perhaps you suffered some kind of medical event, like a stroke, that forced you to leave your job before you were ready to retire. Maybe your employer went out of business, leaving you with no income and few prospects for a comparable position elsewhere. Some people have been financially responsible for years and then find themselves on the cusp of poverty within a few months because they cannot fulfill their financial obligations after losing their jobs.
Instead of worrying about how people will judge you if you filed for bankruptcy, it is likely a better approach to think about how you will benefit from reducing the financial pressure you currently experience. Recognizing that filing for bankruptcy is not a personal failure could help you finally make the decision to retake control over your financial circumstances.
]]>Those who declare Florida their primary residence will have to comply with Florida probate laws. If not, they run the risk of their wishes getting undermined by family members or beneficiaries. Updating your existing estate plan to comply with Florida law often doesn't require much change, unless you have specifically included a kind of clause that Florida will never enforce.
Those planning their Estates have long chosen to include specific provisions to prevent their loved ones from fighting over their property. A no-contest clause or penalty clause is an inclusion in your estate plan that will strip someone of their inheritance rights if they challenge your last wishes.
Those who believe their children will fight no matter how fair they tried to be or who have one problematic family member may choose to include no-contest clauses in their wills or trusts. In most states to deter their loved ones from dragging their legacy through probate court.
However, Florida will not uphold such clauses. State law forbids their enforcement. There is a possibility of people abusing such clauses, especially if they have already exerted undue influence on an older adult to force them to change their existing estate plan. People can challenge estates when they have valid grounds to do so without fear of losing their inheritance rights even if the testator included a no-contest clause in their plans.
Those concerned about family members fighting over their inheritance have other tools at their disposal when creating an estate plan or updating their documents to fully comply with Florida law after moving here.
Transparency and open discussions with family members can help. Advance gifting during your golden years so that not everything transfers after your death is also helpful. You all will also get to experience the joy of watching your loved ones make use of their inheritance, which can be a lovely added benefit. Finally, you may want to consider adding a trust to your estate documents, as trusts are often harder to challenge than simple sills.
Learning more about the unique challenges that come with estate planning and probate proceedings in Florida can help you maximize your protection when creating an estate plan.
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