Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

According to Forbes Magazine the United States has over four hundred billionaires. Currently, three Liberal members of the Senate are working on a plan that calls for a 10% estate “billionaire surtax” that would go into effect retroactively. This would raise the tax rate to 65% on all estates that have accumulated more than $1 billion in assets. These lawmakers believe that billionaires should be required to pay more in estate taxes due to the increasing federal budget deficit and national debt.

This harsh tax proposal may have been spurred by the death of Texas billionaire Dan L. Duncan who passed away in March with a net worth of $9.8 billion. Since Duncan died this year, his entire estate passes to his heirs tax-free. If these Senators’ proposal is enacted, it will hit Duncan’s estate retroactively, immediately prompting a court challenge to its constitutionality.

Republican Senators and some less liberal Democrats are opposed to any retroactive plan. Seeing that the only way to come up with a legitimate plan is through bipartisan cooperation, two other Senators have been working on a compromise. This would impose estate taxes on estates above $5 million at a maximum tax rate of 35%. If Liberals have their way they would also seek to eliminate or restrict the use of GRATs because those trusts are popular tax breaks for the wealthy. If you have any questions or concerns about how these new laws may effect you contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer or Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer for assistance.

Most people in today’s society would be happy to discover that they were being left an inheritance in a Florida Will . However, since inherited property under the estate laws of Florida is a gift, the beneficiary does not have to accept the inheritance. Although declining to accept a gift would seem odd to some people, there are a few reasons why it would be beneficial not to claim inherited property.

One reason why a person may not want to accept an estate gift is because the property may be undesirable. Property may become undesirable when there is a large debt owed on the property or significant maintenance would be required to sell the property. For example, an old abandoned gas station that was given to you in a will would probably not be worth taking because of the significant costs to modify the property and the taxes that could come with it.

Other reasons why someone would disclaim property are to prevent your creditors from taking the property, a feeling that it is wrong to benefit from someone’s death, and to reduce your tax burden, or it will only create additional estate taxes upon your death. While it may not be permissible to disclaim the property in all situations to avoid creditors, you should discuss your specific goals with a Jacksonville Estate Planning Lawyer as soon as possible because there are time limits on when a properly filed disclaimer can be done. Whatever your reason may be for not wanting the gift it is important to know a disclaimer must comply with federal law. Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer who can assist you in the process and insure that the disclaimer is done correctly and complies with the appropriate laws of the jurisdiction.

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.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted 225-200 in favor of H.R. 4154. The bill will make the 2009 Estate Tax Level Permanent.

Currently (for 2009) the estate tax exemption is $3.5 million and the maximum tax rate on estates is 45%. The Bill referred to as the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009, would permanently extend this estate tax exemption amount and tax rate.

The Bill still needs the Senate and President's approval.

The following states will have an inheritance tax in 2009
Estates in excess of

$3,500,000: NC, VT
$3,000,000: OK (tax expires after 2009)
$2,000,000: CT, IL (tax expires after 2009), WA
$1,000,000: DC, KS (tax expires after 2009), ME, MD, MA, MN, NY, OR, TN
$ 675,000: NJ, RI
$ 338,333 OH
$ 0: IA, IN, KY, PA.

Florida has no estate tax for individuals who die in 2009.

Individuals may consider transferring assets though gifts prior to death to avoid estate taxes as most states do not have gift taxes.

Life insurance is counted as part of your taxable estate. Many people understand that life insurance is income tax free to the beneficiaries, but the do not know that the proceeds of a life insurance policy are usually counted as part of the decedent's estate for Federal Estate Tax purposes.

This increase in the taxable estate can often lead to estate tax or a death tax being due. 1,000,000 in life insurance can create as much as a $450,000 tax bill for the estate. To avoid this many individual create an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust or ILIT. An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust is a type of Florida Revocable Trust that is designed to hold and own life insurance policies. Once the ILIT is created you transfer ownership of your life insurance policies or purchase new policies in the Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust. By giving up all "incidents of ownership" over the policies the benefits of the policies are not part of your taxable estate when you die.

To find out how an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust can benefit you Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer to discuss your situation.

Short Answer: A Summary Administration probate usually takes just over 3 months but can take 6 or more depending on the circumstances.

Long Answer: It depends on the facts and circumstances of each situation. In some areas of Florida the Judges require or allow for differing procedures this causes some probate administrations to take longer than others.

In Florida, the personal representative may need to sell real estate prior to settling the estate. As you can imagine the market conditions can determine how long it will take to sell property. I have been involved in some Jacksonville Probate Litigation where the creditors dispute every claim and as a result lawsuits are filed to resolve those claims. This procedure or settling a disputed claim in a Florida probate can extend the time to compete the probate.

Other Jacksonville cases have involved a disputed prenuptial agreement or Florida WIll. Again when there is extended litigation the process will take longer to resolve., or to resolve a disputed claim filed by a creditor, or a lawsuit filed to challenge the validity of the will.

Even the simplest of estates must be open for at least the three-month creditor claim period. If there are no assets that are subject to claims of creditors in some counties the Judges like to give notice to creditors and an opportunity to dispute homestead status to preserve the creditor's due process rights. With these issues in mind, it is reasonable to expect that a simple estate will take at least three months and typically five or six months to properly handle.

If the estate does not have to file a federal estate tax return, the final accounting and other documents necessary to close the estate are first due within 12 months after the Court issues Letters of Administration to the personal representative. This period can be extended if necessary and is often extended in cases involving Florida personal Injury Claims.

If the estate is required to file a federal estate tax return, the return is initially due nine months after the date of the decedent’s death, however, the time for filing the return can be extended for another six months. Remember that the Personal Representative is personally responsible for the estate taxes if they are unpaid. If a federal estate tax return is required, the final accounting and other documents to close the probate administration are due within 12 months from the date the estate tax return, as extended, is due. This date can also be extended if necessary.

If you need help from a Florida probate lawyer or are looking to file a claim a Florida Probate case and would like a Jacksonville Probate Attorney to review your claim or the probate administration Contact a Florida Probate Lawyer.

Update:
Jacksonville Probate Lawyer, David Goldman has put together a Florida Probate Handbook that is being offered free to readers and visitors of his websites. If you would like a copy, visit the Free Florida Probate Handbook web page, fill out the form, and one will be sent to you within 24 hours by email.

Only five weeks before his death Leonard R. Brener made a change to his will. He decided to change his beneficiaries form four local charities to his niece and her husband who took care of him while he was dying.

The non-profits were stunned and file a suit to battle over the money. The case took more than five years that the state appeals court recently ruled that Brener was mentally competent and his decision to leave the money to his family should stand.

The charities tried to argue that his change was unnatural because it would trigger significant estate taxes which he had previously stated he wanted to avoid.
(Estate taxes on 8M today are 2.7 Million Dollars) with proper estate planning its possible to have reduced the tax to 1.8 Million or less) Although the estate taxes from 2001 were significantly more than they are today.

This lengthy estate battle could have been avoided with the privacy afforded by a Florida Revocable Trust and some explanation within the will as to why the changes were being sought. In addition a Florida Revocable Trust would help to avoid the costs associated with a Florida Probate. If you would like more information on how a Florida Revocable Trust could benefit your or your family, Contact a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer for more information.

When one dies the value of their estate is subject to an Federal Estate Tax. This rate is currently 45%. In 2008 the Federal government has an exemption of the estate tax on the first 2 million dollars in value. In addition, many states have additional state taxes that are due when a resident of their state dies. Florida use to have an estate tax, but repealed it when the federal government stopped allowing you to deduct the amount of state estate tax paid from the federal estate tax due.

You should check on the estate tax in your state and consider costs and benefits of your state versus those with no estate tax. One of the reasons so many wealthy people move to Florida is the lack of income tax and estate tax.

How much are estate taxes?

Your estate will have to pay estate taxes if its net value when you die is more than the "exempt" amount set by Congress at that time. Here is the current schedule for the federal estate taxes:

Year of Death.........Estate Tax "Exemption"
2008................................$2 million
2009................................$3.5 million
2010................................N/A (repealed)
2011 and thereafter..........$1 million

In addition you may have to add your states taxes on top of the numbers above.
Although 2010 looks like 0, it really is higher, in 2010 the plan is tax on the increase in value of one's estate. Under the current plan, most assets are able to take advantage of a free stepped up value based upon the fair market value at the time of the decedents death.

A Florida Life Insurance Trust is an irrevocable trust that allows an individual to make the proceeds of a life insurance poliicy free from income taxes and estate taxes. Typical life insurance policies are income tax free, but many increase the value of one's estate to the point that the federal and or state income taxes are due. By using an ilit one can avoid these taxation issues.

In 2008 the Federal tax exemption is $2,000,000. Lets take a client with 1.5M in assets and a 1M life insurance policy.

If they were to die in 2008 their estate would be valued at 2.5M and 500,000 would be subject to estate taxes. The current estate tax rate is 45% so this estate would have to pay a tax of $225,000.

In 2011 the estate tax exemption is only $1M. With an estate valuation of $2.5M, 1.5M would be subject to estate taxes. Using the same tax rate, this estate would have to pay $675,000.

To find out if or how a Florida Life insurance trust can help you please 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?

A recent article on Your Louisiana Estate Planning Blog, For Families With More Than $2 million of Assets: Bad Wills Can Cost You $1,000,000 talks about how poorly drafted wills can quickly cost your over $1Million in estate taxes. I see several clients a month that would have tax bills in excess of 1 Million dollars upon their death.

For those of you who have assets in excess of 2 million or expect to have assets in 2011 in excess of 1 million dollars, did you know that almost 1/2 of your estate will go to pay the tax bill?

If you have substantial assets and want to leave them to your family instead of the government, talk to a Florida Estate Planning Lawyer about how to structure your assets.

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

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.

Mitchell Port a California lawyer posted a link to an article on the California Tax Attorney Blog about an article on the State Bar Website which provides information on estate planning. Although this is a California bar website, many of the same issues and considerations are important to Florida residents interested in Florida Estate Planning. Much of the information is also found on The Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog which primarily deals with Florida issues.

1. What Is Estate Planning?
2. What Is Involved in Estate Planning?
3. Who Needs Estate Planning ?
4. What Is Included in my Estate?
5. What Is a Will?
6. What Is a Revocable Living Trust?
7. What Is Probate?
8. To Whom Should I Leave My Assets?
9. Whom Should I Name as My Executor or Trustee?
10. How Should I Provide for My Minor Children?
11. When Does Estate Planning Involve Tax Planning?
12. How Does the Way in Which I Hold Title Make a Difference?
13. What Are Other Methods of Leaving Property?
14. What If I Become Unable to Care for Myself ?
15. Who Should Help Me With My Estate Planning Documents?
16. How Do I Find a Qualified Lawyer?
17. Should I Beware of Someone Who Is a "Promoter" of Financial and Estate Planning Services?
18. What Are the Costs Involved In Estate Planning?

Last month the IRS released a newly revised Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, and Instructions to Form 706. The new form is to be used for estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2006 and before January 1, 2008, and reflects changes in law as well as indexing changes.

According to the instructions, the following items are new:

• Use of the revision is only for the estates of decedents dying in calendar year 2007.
• The maximum tax rate for the estates of decedents dying in 2007 has decreased to 45%.
• The Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007, P.L.110-28, extends the application of income tax return preparer penalties to all tax return preparers, including estate tax return preparers.
• The decedent's authority over certain financial accounts in a foreign country must be reported on Part 4 - General Information.
• Various dollar amounts and limitations are indexed for inflation, and the following amounts have increased:
1. The ceiling on special-use valuation is $940,000, and
2. The amount used in computing the 2% portion of estate tax payable in installments is $1,250,000.
• Beginning with the estates of decedent's dying and generation-skipping transfers occurring after December 31, 2003, the generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemption is equal to the applicable exclusion amount. ($2,000,000 for 2007).

Visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and look under Forms and Publications.

Source: Internal Revenue Service, Form 706 (United States Estate / and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return) and Instructions for Form 706, Forms and Publications - September 28, 2007.

Your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer will tell you that being appointed the PR / executor of an estate is not easy. The PR takes a personal risk and large responsibility to the estate of the decedent, the IRS, and the beneficiaries.

The main job of the PR is to manage the administration of an estate. Many small estates in Florida are distributed without the need of a Personal Representative or Executor. If the decedent had valid Florida Will, the PR can be name from the will, if not the court will appoint a PR based on qualifications and an order of priority. Generally the spouse is the first to be chosen as a PR, next the adult children along with any children who have legal guardians can be the PR. There is a statutory scheme to determining who will be the PR in a Florida Probate Case.

The PR will be responsible for locating the will, and additional documents to help determine what the debts and assets of the decedent are. In Florida probate requires a Florida Attorney. Once you are appointed as the PR, the court will issue you Letters of Administration. This document allows you to act on behalf of the estate. When you take actions, you will have to notify any interested parties (beneficiaries and creditors). The assets of the estate may be used to pay valid claims. One very important job of the PR is to file all current and final tax returns. This is one area where the PR has personal liability for unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest. Once all of the assets have been accounted for, creditors paid, and beneficiaries determined, the PR will distribute the remaining assets as instructed in the will or by the intestate statutes. The PR is also responsible for filing the accounting (a balance sheet showing the amount of the assets and whom they belong to).

The personal representative is entitled to compensation for the work that they do. The personal representative is also able to hire professionals or others to advise and administer aspects of the estates.

When you die, someone has to know hot to determine or what the details of your financial life are

It is important to make a comprehensive list of assets, liabilities, life insurance policies, power of attorney, Florida will, credit cards, details of bank accounts and all other important financial information.

The problem is that once you pass away, an executor or personal representative has to go through all of your document to figure out where assets may be located.

Recently a range of self-help products have emerged. The paper, and computer based products are available in many office supply stores. Many people who have a Florida Will or other Florida Estate Planning Documents, do not have a system for keeping the other information organized so that after passing, the Florida Probate process can be simplified.

Think about someone unfamiliar with your filing system trying to figure out where you have banks, stocks, Cd's, private investments, loans, debts, and everything else you keep in your mind but not on paper. Often the lack of an organized system increases the cost of the Fees associated with using a Florida Probate Lawyer.

Your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer, should be able to give you advice on what you need to make a list to simplify the Florida Probate process.

To discuss how this case may affect you, talk to your Florida Estate Planning Lawyer
In the recent case of Stone v. United States, No. 3:06-cv-00259, United States District Court for the Northern District of California (May 25, 2007), the declined to give a discount to the value of artwork.

The Court reasoned that artwork in not fungible. From that, and the testimony of the experts (and commenting that unlike this case, sales of fractional interests in real estate sales had comparable sales evidence of discounts) the Court concluded, in general, that a hypothetical willing seller of an undivided interest in art would rather sell the whole piece and split the proceeds, then sell a fractional interest at a discount. Such a sale might be by agreement or might be by partition. But, because a partition could be sought, no hypothetical willing seller would accept anything less than full value.

Turning to specifics, after dissecting the testimony of estate’s expert asserting a 51% discount, the Court said that “a small discount is appropriate to account for legal fees” (here, legal fees would have been about 1%) and a further discount of 2% for costs of sale should be added. No appraisals would be necessary. “Some discount” would be appropriate for the uncertainties involved in waiting to sell the art. The Court would give no discount for lack of control, lack of marketability, lack of liquidity, the time value of money or other discounts commonly discussed in such cases.

The Court stopped short of making a final determination of the appropriate discount. Instead, it ordered the parties to seek to reach an agreement on valuation. But the tone of the Court’s opinion suggests that, if pushed to decide, the Court would “just say no” to big discounts.

Letters Of Administration: In a Florida probate that involves full or ancillary administration, Letters of administration are issued by the probate judge to a personal representative, showing that the personal representative has the authority to act on behalf of an estate.

Once letters are issued the Personal Representative many not do anything they want. The letters, while allowing the PR to act create liability for the PR as well as a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries and creditors of the estate including the IRS. A PR should not forget to file the 1040 tax return for the last year, the 1041 tax return for income made during the administration of the estate, the 709 estate tax return, and make sure that any minimum required distributions from IRA's or other retirement accounts are removed by December 31 in the year that the decedent died. The PR becomes personally liable for any unpaid or late filing fees including interest that are due to the failure to file these returns timely.

4. What are the general myths about Florida revocable trusts?

"Revocable Trusts Save Taxes."

Revocable trusts do not save income taxes or estate taxes. Typically during the life of the grantor the tax id of the grantor is used and any tax flows through to the grantor at his rates. Following the death of the grantor if the trust continues and is not immediately distributed outright to the beneficiaries it must then get a tax identification number and the retained income is taxed to the trust which has a more compressed rate schedule often resulting in a higher tax rate then if the individual beneficiaries were paying. This is not a potential problem until after the passing of the grantor though and then with proper planning the income can be distributed to the beneficiaries and there will be no adverse tax issues.

"Revocable Trusts Protect Assets from Creditors." - Myth

This is generally not correct as it relates to the grantor themself. Creditors may reach the assets of the grantor. Some asset protection could be achieved for other beneficiaries though. A Florida trust attorney could further help explain the details of how a trust could help with asset protection for other beneficiaries.

The primary benefit of creating a revocable trust is that it allows for continued management and preservation of your assets, should you become disabled. It can also help avoid probate and set forth all of the dispositive provisions of your estate plan including delayed distributions to beneficiaries if desired and professional management of such assets.

3. What Are some disadvantages of Florida Revocable Trusts

Re-Registration of Property and Changes to Beneficiary Designations
In order for the trust to ensure the continuity of management of the assets and Florida probate avoidance
the trust must be funded through a process of retitling assets of the estate. Depending on if there is a change in beneficial interest, there may be fees due when the new Florida Deeds are filed. If there is no change in the beneficial interest there are no additional document taxes due.

Increased initial costs

The costs to initially prepare a trust is more then a will given it is typically a more complicated and extensive document although the ultimate costs of having the trust and saving on the probate administration and other expenses is less.

2. What are the general advantages of revocable trusts?

Continuity of Management During Disability

Creating a Florida revocable trust is probably the best way to ensure that your property remains available to be used for your benefit, should you become physically or mentally incapable of managing your own affairs. While continuity of management is also possible when a Florida durable power of attorney is signed, third parties such as banks, brokers, and transfer agents often have more difficulty in dealing with a durable power of attorney than with a trust and do not always accept the authority of the agent.

If you become disabled and you have neither a revocable trust nor a durable power of attorney, (power of attorneys are controlled in Florida by the Florida Durable Power of Attorney Statute 709.08 an expensive, lengthy, and potentially embarrassing court proceeding is generally required to appoint a guardian before your property can be used to benefit either you or your family. Even after a guardian has been named, continued court supervision over the management of investments and disbursements is usually required. This can include annual bond fees, annual accounting, and additional legal, accounting, and other professional fees. It was also require a restricted depository account in which the court must approve of the transactions from.

Flexibility
Using a funded revocable trust may allow you to name unrelated, out-of-state individuals and out-of-state trust companies to act as the primary administrator of your property at death. Without a trust, Florida and other jurisdictions limit your flexibility in this regard. To serve as a non corporate Personal Representative in Florida a person must be a Florida resident or a close family member (as defined by Florida Statute) of the Florida decedent

Avoiding Florida Probate
Because Florida probate can be costly and time-consuming, the avoidance of probate in Florida is often cited as one of the primary benefits of a revocable trust. Depending on the assets that are funded in the Florida Trust may determine how great a benefit avoiding probate may be. If you own real estate in more than one state such as in Florida, California and Pennsylvania you can avoid multiple probate proceedings. If the decedent was a Florida domicile and owned property in Southern California, another piece of real estate in Philadelphia, and also owned real estate in Manhattan New York for example then putting the real estate in the trust can help avoid a California Ancillary Administration, avoid New York Ancillary Probate as well as helping to avoid Ancillary Probate Administration for the Pennsylvania property. The property can be distributed to the beneficiaries in a quicker manner and with far less administration costs.

Continue reading "Florida Trust Advantages" »

With a Florida Wills you can appoint guardians for your children and arrange to manage their property for them until they're legal adults. Making a will is a critical first step in your plan.

But in Florida a will must go through the probate process, a lengthy and expensive court procedure in which a judge determines that your will is valid and supervises the distribution of your property. In most Florida counties including Duval, Clay, and St. Johns it can take 6 to 18 months and cost up to 3% of your non exempt portion of your estate. There can be additional fees for dealing with non-probate assets (that includes your Florida Homestead when you die, even if the bank really owns it).

If you have a house worth $300,000 and $200,000 worth of other assets, probate costs could be close to $7,000 and could easily be even higher. An estate of 500,000 could be looking at fees around $15,000. You can avoid probate costs by establishing a Florida Living Trust, Make sure you use a Florida living trust attorney to ensure that you comply Florida laws and regulations.

In Florida probate is a court-supervised process that is designed to determine how to transfer the assets of a decedent upon their death. Property subject to Florida probate administration is that owned by a person at death, which does not pass to others by operation of law, contract or designation (such as life insurance policies, retirement accounts and transfer on death bank or brokerage accounts)

Probate administration transfers legal title of property from the estate of the decedent (the person who has died) to his or her proper beneficiaries as determined by a will, if no will by the state laws of intestacy and if there was a surviving spouse they may receive some statutory rights not provided for in the will such as homestead or an elective share.

The term probate means to prove. In the probate administration process the petitioner / personal representative seeks to prove the existence of a valid will or to determine and prove who the heirs are if there is no Will so the property passes by intestate succession.

Continue reading "Florida Probate Process - " »

Florida Estate Planning:

The process of preparing and planning for a persons financial, health care and personal affairs. It includes documents to designate an agent in the event of a future disability such as a Living Willl or health care surrogate to assist with health care matters if one is unable to do so, a power of attorney to help with financial matters, and wills and trusts to pass financial property to family, friends and possibly other organizations. Estate Planning can ensure that a person is able to pass their property exactly as they desire instead of how Florida law or their home state would dictate it pass and then if trusts are prepared they can direct how the property will be handled long after the grantor is dead. Estate Planning is critical for all people and not merely those with a large estate. It determines who the guardian of minor children would be, who the personal representative/trustee (if there was also a trust) would be that handles the affairs and a guardianship from having to be imposed where the court would take control. Florida probate could be avoided as well through the use of trusts and or proper designations for the way that property is held saving time and money. Also if it is a large estate money could be saved that would otherwise have to be paid for estate taxes. Once all the persons assets exceed a certain exemption amount the estate is taxed at over 40%. With proper planning substantial amounts of money can be saved.