Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

Florida has no Estate Taxes, but there may still be Federal Estate taxes due. Before the distribution of assets of the deceased’s estate can occur, the federal government has the ability to take their share of the estate. The Federal Estate tax has been repealed for the year 2010 but in past years the tax has been applied to every U.S. citizen who died leaving assets to be distributed to their heirs. - This does not mean no taxes will be due for individuals who die in 2010. Remember the law does not allow an unlimited amount of capital gains like in previous years. There is not an unlimited amount of capital gains like in 2009. This means even with an unlimited estate tax exemption, some people will pay more in estate taxes under 2010 than under previous years.

In past years the estate tax was applied only on funds that exceeded the net estate amount set by Congress. For example, if an individual died in 2009 leaving a net estate of $3.5 million then the federal government would not have taxed the estate because the net estate did not exceed the amount exempted by Congress. However, if the net estate would have been $4 million instead, the estate would be taxed at a rate of 45% on the amount over $3.5 million. So in this case the Federal Estate tax liability would be ($500,000 x 45%) which comes out to $225,000.

Currently, there is no plan to repeal the Estate Tax exemption for 2011. Before the 2010 repeal, Congress had increased the tax exemption given to individuals who died and whose net estate was distributed to $3.5 million. However, the current plan for 2011 is to have a tax exemption of $1 million and a tax rate of 55%. If the current plan remains in effect it will place a much greater tax liability on assets and funds that are distributed out of the net estate of those who die next year.

Thus, it is important to discuss the estate tax process and what tax liability your estate may be subject to in future years with an Florida Estate Planning Lawyer. Some assets are exempt from tax liability and with proper planning your federal estate tax liability in future years could be significantly reduced.

The IRS recently announced that the gift tax annual exclusion will remain unchanged in 2010 at $13,000

The yearly amount of the exclusion is based on the Consumer Price Index and has increased from $10,000 in 1997 to $13,000 in 2009 and 2010. As long as your gifts to an individual are less than the exclusion amount, there is no gift tax return that is required to be filed and no gift taxes are due. Each spouse gets an exclusion so a married couple can actually gift $26000 to each individual without creating a tax liability or necessity for reporting.

With proper gift planning a family can transfer a significant amount of money to their children and grandchildren. Take a family who has 3 kids, each married and each with 2 grandchildren.
This creates 3 kids + 3 spouses + 6 Grandchildren. A gift of $13,000 to each by each parent could remove 312,000 a year from your estate. Do this for 10 years and you could remove over 3.1 Million dollars. Given that the current tax rate is 45%, this could save $1.4 Million in estate taxes.

There are other ways of reducing your estate taxes and you should discuss your objectives and goals with a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Florida Asset Protection Lawyer who will review your individual circumstances and make recommendations based on them.

Remember that gifting is not for everyone and as you get older and your chance of needing Medicaid increased, gifting can disqualify you from certain government benefits. If there are issues or concerns you should discuss them with your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer

The 2009 IRS annual gift tax exclusion is increasing form $12,000 to $13,000 for 2009.

This increase means that more money can be given away for estate tax planning purposes. For example, a married couple with two married children will be able to give away up to $104,000 in 2009 with no gift tax implications.

To discuss other ways of moving funds to your family or friends in order to reduce the effects of estate taxes, Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer

The Florida Bar has released consumer information on Florida Probate where they describe many of the issues related to Probate in Florida. They discuss the following:

1. WHAT IS PROBATE?
2. WHAT ARE PROBATE ASSETS?
3. WHY IS PROBATE NECESSARY?
4. WHAT IS A WILL?
5. WHAT HAPPENS TO PROBATE ASSETS IF THERE IS NO WILL?
6. WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE PROBATE PROCESS?
7. WHERE ARE PROBATE PAPERS FILED?
8. WHO SUPERVISES THE PROBATE ADMINISTRATION?
9. WHAT IS A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE, AND WHAT DOES THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE DO?
10. WHO CAN BE A PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE?
11. WHO HAS PREFERENCE TO BE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE?
12. WHY DOES THE PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NEED AN ATTORNEY?
13. HOW ARE ESTATE CREDITORS HANDLED?
14. HOW IS THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE ("IRS") INVOLVED?
15. HOW IS THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE INVOLVED?
16. WHAT RIGHTS DO THE SURVIVING FAMILY HAVE IN THE PROBATE ESTATE?
17. WHAT RIGHTS DO OTHER POTENTIAL BENEFICIARIES (OTHER THAN THE SURVIVING SPOUSE AND CHILDREN UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES) HAVE IN THE PROBATE ESTATE?
18. HOW LONG DOES PROBATE TAKE?
19. HOW ARE FEES DETERMINED IN PROBATE?
20. WHAT ALTERNATIVES ARE AVAILABLE TO FORMAL ADMINISTRATION?
21. WHAT IF THERE IS A REVOCABLE TRUST?

If you have questions about a Florida probate case please contact a Florida Probate Lawyer.

Professor Gerry W. Beyer author of the Wills, Trusts, & Estates Professors Blog, as reported on a mistake in estate planning where a Another Self-Help Estate Plan Gone Awry. In this case a man decided not to consult with anestate planning lawyer. He transferred the family home to his stepchildren son and $150,000 of securities to his son.

The house was highly appreciated and as such was a poor asset to select to use as a lifetime gift. Because it was transferred during life, the children had to use the father's basis instead of the price of the home at the death of the father. This resulted in over $80,000 in capital gains liability.

In addition the house, because it was transferred within 3 years of death, was still included in the father's estate value and did not reduce his estate taxes.

The moral of the story: Spontaneous self-help by a Testator / Grantor can backfire and deprive heirs of large percentages of an estate and prompt family tensions. Professional planning would have made a huge difference to this man's family.

Some other examples of Do it your self wills and bad news are covered in my articles listed below

Do it Yourself Wills? More bad news and
Do it Yourself Wills? a Good Idea or Not?
Do it yourself Estate Planning: Bad News Part 3
Do it yourself Estate Planning: Bad News Part 4

This is a common mistake found in Florida Probate cases, when people try to make their own wills, or transfer their assets without getting professional help from an attorney or accountant who is familiar with the effects of gifting and estate planning.

If you have used software, a form, or an online service to prepare your will, you should have it reviewed by a Florida Estate planning Attorney for potential problems.

Annual Gift Tax Exclusion:

Each person has an annual gift tax exclusion of $12,000 annually free of gift tax if it is a gift of a present interest such as cash, tickets to Jacksonville Jaguars football game that are currently being given or a new car. If you are not giving the current right to enjoy the property and giving up complete control of it unless an exception applies such as a Crummey power for an irrevocable life insurance trust there will not be an exclusion and the value of the gift will use up part of the individuals applicable exclusion amount or if it has been used subject them to gift tax. A husband and wife can elect to split gifts for a year and are then able to give $24,000 to an individual in a year for gifts of a present interest with no tax. Other then spouses who are not US Citizens or residents spouses can give one another an unlimited amount of gifts of any type of interest during their lives and it will not be taxable at that time.

In addition, an individual is able to pay for the education and healthcare costs of their children and grand children. For these payments to qualify, the person must make the payments directly to the school or medical facility or health insurance company, if the funds go through the child, the will not qualify.