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With the 2020 election fast approaching, it's time to look at how the two candidates' policy positions for President of the United States might affect your estate planning and tax planning over the next four years.

Estate planning with blended families can prove challenging under the best of circumstances. But this recent Market Watch column raises a nightmare scenario that's popping up far too often in the time of COIVD-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has unquestionably changed life as we know it in Florida over the last six months. With more than 542,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and more than 8,500 deaths in Florida, attorneys specializing in estate planning are seeing a surge in new business.

An estimated 1.3 million people in the United States are under guardianship in this country, with another person appointed to look after their finances and physical and emotional well-being. About 85% of those under guardianship are over the age of 65.

COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus have turned life as we know it upside down. With more than a quarter of a million cases in Florida and more than 16,000 in Orange County alone, this virus has many of us thinking about our mortality and long and short-term estate plans.

Protests have rocked Central Florida and the Orlando area night after night since May 28, 2020. Thousands have gathered to show outrage over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died pinned under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, clashes between Orlando police.

The last two and a half months have been a stressful time period for all of us. As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the country, we've all had to readjust our day-to-day living by practicing social distancing, staying at home as much as possible, and wearing masks when we are out and about.

Many Floridians have suddenly found themselves without their jobs as a result of the novel coronavirus and the economic shutdown. At the time of this writing, the unemployment rate is at 4.3 percent, with over 1.6 million people applying for unemployment claims with the state government since mid-March.

If you were contemplating getting a divorce before the novel coronavirus hit, you may have decided to put it off for the sake of your children or maybe for financial reasons.

The coronavirus has put us all on edge in Florida, in this country, and throughout the world. From business closures to state closures to the daily rise in infection numbers and deaths, it's scary out there. Many people are thinking about life generally and mortality specifically.