Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

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?

Posted by David M. Goldman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Administration , Ancillary Administration , Annual Gift Tax Exclusion , Assets Subject to Probate Administratio , Attorney-in-fact , Beneficiary , Creditors and Claims , Death Taxes , Devise / Devisee , Distributions , Elective Share , Estate Taxes , Exempt property , Family Allowance , Full Administration , Homestead , Intestacy , Intestate , Inventory , Letters of Administration , Life Insurance Trust , Personal Representative , Probate , Special Needs Trust , Summary Administration , Tax issues , Trusts - Charitable

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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.

Posted by David M. Goldman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Administration , Assets Subject to Probate Administratio , Creditors and Claims , Distributions , Estate Planning , Estate Taxes , Full Administration , Inventory , Probate

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One problem I have seen in Florida probate cases, and Florida Estate Planning was recently written about by a Massachusetts Estate Planning Lawyer, Leanna Hamill who Practices in Estate Planning and Elder Law. This article was also covered by the Elder Law Professors Blog

In her review of the Walls Street Journal article, Paperless World Can Leave Heirs in the Dark, she states that the article outlines the dangers of keeping your records on your computer.

One of the main problems is that you may not have paper copies, for your Personal Representative to review. Without this information it may be difficult or impossible to compete an accurate inventory during the probate or administration of the decedents estate.

I have previously touched on this in a several articles about Florida Estate Planning and Digital Assets. Those articles cover some of the actual problems and ways in which various online services deal with death, and some of the problems that can result including who has a right if any to access the decedent's information which is stored online.

If you use a computer, you need to consider having a Florida Estate Plan that deals with Digital Assets, paperless transactions, and details your assets for those who have to administrate your estate.

Posted by David M. Goldman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Administration , Ancillary Administration , Beneficiary , Digital Asset Trust , Estate Planning , Inventory , Living Trust , Personal Representative , Probate , Wills

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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 advise on what you need to make a list to simplify the Florida Probate process.

Posted by David M. Goldman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Administration , Estate Planning , Estate Taxes , Inventory , Life Insurance Trust , Living Trust , Personal Representative , Probate , Wills

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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.

Posted by David M. Goldman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Distributions , Estate Planning , Estate Taxes , Inventory , Probate

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In Florida a Revocable Trustcan be amended and revoked, by the grantor who established the trust. This trust may become irrevocable and no longer amendable when the grantor of the trust dies or becomes permanently incompetent.

Living Trust also known as Revocable Trust of Revocable Living Trust: A trust that one establishes during one's lifetime which is not part of one's will, but is established by a separate written trust agreement. A revocable trust is one of the primary means for avoiding probate. I can also allow for a specific distribution such as the children receiving 1/3 of the inheritance at 25 1/3 at 30 and 1/3 at 35 if the parents are already deceased or providing longer term asset protection on their behalf. It can provide for professional management of the trust assets, help to ensure that the grantor or their trustee can maintain control over their affairs and has many useful benefits.

Assets which are in the Revocable Living Trust prior to the death of the grantor are not subject to probate, inventory, but can be subject to estate tax. The Trust will generally become irrevocable at the time of the death of the grantor and terminate shortly afterwards. The trust can create several new trusts upon or give assets outright to the beneficiaries. Consult with your Florida Revocable Living Trust Attorney to create a trust that works best for you. There are also several special trusts that can be used to carry out your desires and achieve your goals and objectives.

Posted by David M. Goldman | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Assets Subject to Probate Administratio , Estate Planning , Exempt property , Inventory , Living Trust , Probate , Revocable Trust

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